Project Omega
by Dr. Mack Foxx
Summary: Sequel to The Village Guardian. Dr. Foxx and Aura, a young Gardevoir, continue their mission to annihilate Cipher. However, the demented scientist, Dr. Namwen, has other ideas as he perpares to use much of Mack's own technologies against him.
1. Section 1

After defeating Cipher and clearing them out of the Gardev Mountains, Dr. Mack Foxx and Aura, a young Gardevoir (Also the Guardian of Gardev) decide to go and clear Cipher out of the region, but where should they begin? Perhaps the nearest city, Alakaz, might yield some clues. However, the demented scientist, Dr. Alvin Namwen, still has the suit of powerful battle armor that had been stolen from Mack as well as the plans for many of his kinder brother's inventions. Dr. Namwen gets ready to use Mack's own high technology against him as he prepares to complete his greatest triumph: Project Omega. Meanwhile, Cecil is still seething with rage after all he lost back near the village of Gardev as well as his gigantic base in Mt. Terror and seems to be ready to give anything to eliminate Mack and Aura. Before Mack and Aura left Gardev, Glacian, Aura's great-great grandfather said that Aura would find her mate during her travels with Mack. As she eagerly awaits meeting her mate, Mack is still anxious about possible side effects that resulted from the crude fusion and separation of him and Aura.

A Pokémon fan-fiction written by Philip "Dr. Mack Foxx" Byard and Aaron "Aaraboga Jones" Byard

The Sequel to "The Village Guardian" written by Philip "Dr. Mack Foxx" Byard with some help from Aaron "Aaraboga Jones" Byard

This is a work of fan-fiction and may not be modified or sold under any circumstances.

Original Story, Characters and all other Original Content are Copyright 1987, 1995, 1999 and 2006 Philip "Dr. Mack Foxx" Byard and Aaron "Aaraboga Jones" Byard

Pokémon and all related content and characters are Copyright 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2005 and 2006 to Nintendo, Game Freak, Creatures and The Pokémon Company

**-Project Omega-**

**-1-**

Dr. Mack Foxx tightly gripped the black handlebars of his metallic S-12 hovercycle as he raced through the forest. Aura, a young Gardevoir who was the Guardian of Gardev, tightly wrapped her arms around Mack as they flew through the woods at high-speed. Mack could barely hear the Spearow and Pidgeys tweeting and squawking over the loud hum of the hovercycle.

"Where are we going?" asked Aura.

"We're heading back to the lab to re-supply. There is no way this hovercycle is going to carry everything that we'll need," replied Mack as he carefully guided his vehicle between the large trees. Mack almost could not believe what had happened over the last few months. Between battling Cipher, discovering a city of Ralts, Kirlia and Gardevoir, unraveling the secrets of the nearby village of Gardev and getting fused with the Gardevoir who protected Gardev, Mack was exhausted. Just minutes ago, Mack and Aura had departed from Gardev on a mission to stop Cipher. From what Mack could gather, the odds were not in his favor. Not only had Cipher stolen the S-100 Type I Battle Armor, but Mack's new friend, Dr. Newman, had managed to reverse-engineer much of the armor's components while he was still working for Cipher. Though Dr. Newman was now a valuable ally, the scientist's brother had managed to steal all the schematics and blue prints for not only the copied S-100 technologies, but also for a Seismic Generator as well as a machine known as Project Epsilon. The Seismic Generator could either be used to create powerful, localized earthquakes or it could be used to stop powerful quakes before they could do any real damage: all with the push of a button. Project Epsilon had Mack worried even more. If Cipher managed to make a working copy of it, then nothing would stop the criminal organization from stealing and capturing Pokémon from anywhere on Earth. Aura's thoughts were elsewhere. She gazed into the deep-blue sapphire pendant in her right hand. Aura's great-great grandfather, Glacian, had revealed to her that she would find her life-long mate on her travels with Mack. The pendant would be a gift for the Gardevoir of her choice. Aura couldn't help but wonder who her mate would be and when she would find him. The hovercycle soon came to a gentle stop in front of what looked like a rock wall on the side of a hill. To anyone else, this wall of solid rock was no concern, but Mack knew otherwise. He knew what was hidden behind the smooth, gray and black granite wall.

"Is this the place?" asked Aura as she dismounted from the hovercycle.

"Yep, this is it," said Mack as he pressed some buttons on his watch. After a few sharp beeps from the watch, the granite wall rumbled and creaked as it slid away, revealing a large, silvery metal door. Mack walked up to a small control panel on the left side of the door. Aura followed Mack closely. Aside from Aura's soft footsteps, this part of the forest was almost silent. After Mack entered a secret code on the control pad, the door opened with a soft hiss. Aura followed Mack as he got into what looked like an elevator. After pressing a few buttons on the elevator's green control panel, the doors closed with a soft thump. The elevator hummed as they descended. The elevator soon came to an abrupt stop and the doors quickly opened. As they entered a large room, Mack's robotic companion, K-1-27 greeted them as they stepped out of the elevator.

"Welcome back, Mack!" said K-1 cheerfully, "I suspect that you are here for supplies?" Mack and Aura seemed to be puzzled about something.

"How did you get here before we did? We left Gardev just a matter of minutes ago," said a confused Mack.

"I used my built-in teleportation systems, of course. I found that method to be more effective than walking or flying back here," explained K-1, "At any rate, you came here to gather supplies for your journey, correct?"

"Yes. That and I'm also here for the S-1 Air-Car," said Mack as he gazed around his lab and then back at K-1's large, cat-like face.

"I see you brought Aura with you as well," said K-1 as he faced Aura, "Nice to see you again, madam."

"Thank you," said Aura with a smile, "But you can just call me Aura."

"Understood," said K-1 happily as he walked over to a giant screen in the room with a large control panel in front of it. The multi-colored lights on the panel were lit up like a Christmas tree amid the electronic clicks and beeps that came from the giant computer.

"How is Central doing?" asked Mack with concern. Central was the powerful artificial intelligence/sentience program that Mack and K-1 had developed many years ago to aid them not only in their scientific exploits, but also to help run all the systems in Mack's hidden, underground laboratory.

"Central has nearly finished recovering the data that was corrupted from the bizarre explosion," explained K-1. Just weeks ago, Mack had destroyed the original Project Epsilon. The resulting explosion not only separated Mack and Aura, but the blast caused magnetic disturbances that disrupted complex electronics. Though Central, herself, had survived, all the information in her data arrays had been scrambled.

"It should only be a few more days. By then, I will also have completed the analysis of your DNA," answered K-1. After Mack and Aura had been separated, K-1 decided that the best way to discover any side-effects would be to compare a sample of Mack's current DNA from a sample that had been taken right after Mack and K-1 had crash-landed into the world of Pokémon. K-1 was optimistic of the results, but he still had only analyzed 67 of Mack's current DNA structure. However, so far, K-1 had found nothing unusual. This was perplexing, though, especially since Mack could now understand other Pokémon without needing an electronic translator. K-1 figured that he would also check Aura after he was finished with Mack, especially since Aura could now wield the same power over light that Mack had.

"Good. Things will run much smoother once Central is running properly again. We should also check Aura for additional side-effects," said Mack.

"Once Central is operational, checking Aura for problems would take only a matter of minutes," said K-1.

"Granted, it would only take a second for all that if we were back home," laughed Mack.

"No kidding!" said K-1 with a chuckle, "At any rate, what all will you need besides the S-1?"

"Let's start with the Air-Car. Are all the modifications complete?" asked Mack.

"I did everything you asked: thicker armor plating, an enhanced engine, improved energy shielding and stronger repulsors. The Air-Car should now have a flight ceiling of 5,000 feet off the ground," answered K-1 with some excitement.

"Excellent. It can fly twice as high now. That'll make it easier to get to the nearest town from Gardev," said Mack.

"Since the alternative is over one hundred miles of mountain roads, flight is definitely the best way to go," said K-1. Aura seemed a bit nervous.

"Is something wrong, Aura?" asked Mack.

"Well…" said Aura with some hesitation, "I've never been flying before."

"No need to be frightened, Aura," reassured K-1, "The S-1 Air-Car flies smoothly and there are plenty of emergency systems on board. That way, you won't crash, even if the engines fail."

"Okay," said Aura with a sigh of relief.

"Most likely, you'll sleep during the trip. Either that or you'll be too busy looking at the scenery," said Mack as he faced K-1, "I'll need enough supplies for at least 3 weeks for me and three Pokémon."

"Ah, ha," said K-1, "Food, water, extra fuel and spare parts."

"I'll also take my FIW-59A Pistol and one FIW-37 Combo-Rifle. 30 reserve power cells should be enough," said Mack as he glanced over the weapons he kept in a glass case.

"Speaking of weapons," said K-1 sheepishly, "I have not yet installed the Level-4 Turbo Plasma Cannon on the S-1."

"We won't need it!" laughed Mack, "We're just visiting the town, not trying to conquer it!"

"That's logical," said K-1, "I doubt the local police would appreciate it if a light, flying tank showed up in their city." While Mack and K-1 kept discussing about supplies and weapons, Aura was busy looking at a tall, metal man that stood against a wall on the far left side of the room. K-1 stopped talking and turned his gaze towards Aura.

"I see Aura has discovered the R-25A robots," said K-1.

"What do these…R-25's do?" asked Aura with curiosity.

"Ah," said Mack as he walked to and then stood at Aura's side, "The R-25A is a 5 and a half foot tall robot that is designed for multiple uses: heavy lifting, repairing electronics and vehicles and also for use as a security unit. They have some artificial intelligence and will act friendly to anyone but a hostile target."

"I'll have the other R-25s bring the supplies and weapons you requested up to the surface," said K-1. Mack then remembered something important.

"Is Dr. Newman here?" asked Mack.

"That reminds me," said K-1 as he faced Mack, "Dr. Newman would prefer it if we just called him Eric."

"Very well," said Mack.

"At any rate, Eric went back to Gardev for now. He should be back here later this evening," said K-1 as Mack walked past a glass case that was filled with weapons. Amidst all the glistening cannons, Mack's eyes soon fell on the blackened and half-melted remains of a Capture Claw. Mack could only imagine what Cipher was plotting.

**-2-**

Cecil Drake, one of Cipher's most well-known administrators was reclining behind his new brown, wooden desk. Cecil was indeed well-known throughout Cipher, but mainly because of his failures back at Gardev and at what once was the Mt. Terror facility. Just weeks ago, Cecil was standing before the boss of Cipher, about to be demoted for all the recent disasters that had happened under Cecil's authority. All that changed after Dr. Namwen stepped in and had managed to convince the boss to let Cecil keep his position within Cipher. Despite the fact that Cecil was in the clear now, he still wanted vengeance against the Guardian of Gardev and especially against the alien warrior he had met just before the Mt. Terror facility literally vanished in a thick cloud of flaming smoke. Dr. Namwen soon entered the room with a group of six black Alakazams behind him. The Alakazams gave Cecil the creeps. Not only did Dr. Namwen use their intelligence like Dr. Newman did, but these Alakazams were completely emotionless and followed Dr. Namwen around like mindless zombies.

"I think you'll be happy to know that the boss has no ill thoughts of you any more," said Dr. Namwen in a dry, raspy voice. The sound Dr. Namwen's voice was so eerie that Cecil almost liked the sound of scraping razor blades against a chalkboard more than having to listen to the madness in the scientist's voice.

"Indeed," said Cecil uneasily, "I hear that things are going well in the Orre region."

"Yes, they are," said Dr. Namwen with a cruel chuckle, "Project XD001 is almost operational. On top of that, the construction of a new Seismic Generator has begun. Not to mention that an improved copy of Project Epsilon is being designed as we speak. I think Epsilon Mark II will be a considerable improvement, but it will take some time to complete."

"I take it the field team had a heck of a time finding and capturing a Lugia," said Cecil.

"Yes," said Dr. Namwen, "With the information that my inferior brother gathered at the Gardev base, I was able to find the perfect match to be used for XD001. The field team was almost eliminated in the capture attempt. The Lugia knew they were coming for it. If the team had not had a Master Ball on hand, they would have been annihilated by the Lugia for sure."

"It's a real pity the company that designed and made the Master Balls never had them mass-produced," remarked Cecil.

"If only they had, the loss of the Capture Cannons would not have been as…devastating," said Dr. Namwen with disappointment, "Nevertheless, your Master Ball was quite useful. The boss was all too happy to receive it from you just days before we captured the Lugia. I think your present was a good way to help denounce any more…accusations against your ability to be a leader within Cipher."

"You have no idea how relieved I am…" grumbled Cecil, "If you had not stood up for me, I would have been lower on the command chain than those bumbling Hexagon Brothers!" Dr. Namwen could tell that there was more going on in Cecil's mind than he was letting on.

"I see you would like nothing else, but to destroy the Guardian of Gardev, the alien warrior and the town of Gardev itself," observed Dr. Namwen as he read Cecil's thoughts through telepathy.

"I wish you wouldn't probe my mind like that…" muttered Cecil, "But you are right."

"Patience, my friend," said Dr. Namwen in a sadistic tone of voice, "Once everything has fallen in place, I will be able to grant your wish."

"And what of the legendary Gardevoir city?" asked Cecil. Dr. Namwen closed his eyes and stood silent for a few minutes before he answered Cecil.

"You will be there when the Gardevoir city is found. You will also be there as we harvest the hundreds, nay, thousands of Ralts, Kirlia and Gardevoir," said Dr. Namwen, "I only wish my powers would reveal the location of the Gardevoir city."

"I'll be looking forward to that day," said Cecil as he reclined at his desk. After Dr. Namwen had closely inspected the remains of the alien's armor, he wished he could fully repair it and then pilot it. Virtually nothing could stop the alien's armor that Dr. Namwen could think of. Dr. Namwen soon left the room with a grin on his face. After all, if everything went well, he would have the armor suit operating again within three weeks.

**-3-**

While Mack and K-1 plotted their next move, the R-25s were on the surface, loading equipment and supplies onto the S-1. The R-25s continued their work, not caring about the Pokémon that had gather near the crates of food. The four Pokémon, a Mawile and three Kirlia, watched in awe as the tall metal men continued their work.

"I wonder what other tricks Mack has up his sleeve," remarked Li, the Mawile.

"I wish I could have on of those robots to clean my room," said Anna the Kirlia with jealousy.

"No kidding…" grumbled Fredrick, Anna's older Kirlia brother.

"Come on you two, there's no need to fight about that right now," said Sakura the Kirlia softly. Fredrick seemed puzzled about what they were even doing here near the entrance to Mack's hidden lab.

"Anna, what are we doing here?" asked a confused Fredrick.

"Simple, we're going to go with our sister and Mack on their journey!" said Anna triumphantly, much to Fredrick's dismay.

"We can't go with them! Ramirez will have our heads if we leave the mountains! He'll be cross enough if he finds out that we dared so much as to leave Gardev without telling him!" warned Fredrick as he soon noticed that no one was listening to him. Li was keeping an eye on the robots while Anna was trying to figure out how to come along with Mack and Aura without being noticed.

"You're always such a worry-wart!" snapped Anna.

"And with good reason!" growled Fredrick, "You're always getting me and our friends in trouble! I'm heading back to Gardev."

"You mean you won't come with us?" asked Sakura with some sadness in her voice.

"Of course not!" shouted Fredrick, "I'm going to get Ramirez over here and have him drag you back to Gardev!" As Fredrick started to storm off back to the forest, Anna whispered something to Sakura. Sakura giggled and then leapt in front of Fredrick.

"What is it?" asked an irritated Fredrick. Sakura just smiled and started twirling on her toes. Fredrick watched attentively as Sakura gracefully danced in front of him.

"Do all Kirlia know ballet?" asked Li with curiosity.

"Of course," said Anna as she winked her eye, "Fredrick can dance like that too, but the people in Gardev usually laugh at him." Sakura giggled and then stared deeply into Fredrick's eyes.

"I wouldn't gaze at Sakura right now if I were you," warned Anna quietly as she and Li quickly faced away from Sakura. Sakura giggled as her eyes started glowing. Fredrick soon fell to the ground in a deep sleep.

"He's out now," said Sakura happily as she finished her ballet with a graceful bow. Li stared at Fredrick as he slept, almost dumbfounded at what had just happened.

"Hypnosis, right?" asked Li.

"Yep!" laughed Sakura.

"Yeah, that'll shut him up for now," said Anna with some laughter as her gaze soon fell on a large plastic container. The container seemed to be filled with food.

"You think we'll fit in that?" asked Li as he pointed at the container.

"Of course!" said Anna with resolve, "Plus all that food in there should keep us well fed during the trip." Sakura took up Fredrick in her arms and walked up next to Anna and Li.

"We should take him with us, shouldn't we?" asked Sakura.

"Either that or we let this little punk get away and tattle on us," said Anna with a scowl. Anna was closely watching the robots as they continued their work.

"What do you think will happen if they see us?" asked Li.

"They won't see us!" laughed Anna as she held out a familiar box with buttons and knobs on it.

"Did you swipe Mack's cloaking device again?" asked Li as he raised an eyebrow. Before he could answer, Anna pressed a large red button on the device and casually walked up to the crate with Sakura and Li right behind her. They quickly climbed into the crate. Sakura lifted Fredrick into the crate using telekinesis and then quickly dove in.

"At least these Styrofoam peanuts are soft," muttered Li as he spat a few out of his large maw. Seconds later, one of the robots walked over and put a lid on the container.

"Careful R-25-8," said one robot to another, "That crate is very fragile."

"Affirmative, number R-25-3," replied R-25-8 as he carefully loaded the crate into the back on the S-1 Air-Car. Anna breathed a sigh of relief as she soon discovered a flashlight in the bottom of the crate.

"At least we won't have to travel in darkness," said Anna while Li feverishly looked over the packages and bags of food.

"Chocolate brownies? Mountain Dew? What kind of food crate is this?" asked a bewildered Li.

"This is the best stuff! Trust me!" said Anna as she opened a bag of potato chips. Li's mouth watered as the potato chip bag crinkled as Anna opened it. A strange aroma filled the crate.

"Are those things any good?" asked Li eagerly. Anna gazed at Li with disbelief.

"You've never had potato chips before?" asked Anna with amazement, "Of course these things are good!"

"Okay," said Li as he grabbed a bag of chips in his large mouth and tried to swallow it. Anna laughed at Li as he coughed up the bag of chips.

"You're not supposed to eat the whole blasted bag," giggled Anna. Meanwhile, Mack and Aura were heading back to the surface in the elevator with K-1.

"Okay, the S-1 is loaded and ready to go," said K-1 as the elevator door opened. The R-25s stood in a line outside the door.

"Nicely done, R-25-2," said Mack.

"My pleasure, sir," replied R-25-2 as Aura sat down in the S-1.

"It should only be an hour of driving until you reach the nearest city, Alakaz," said K-1, "I've marked the city on the S-1's computer."

"Thanks, K-1!" said Mack with a smile as he jumped into the driver's seat. Aura still seemed uneasy.

"Still nervous, Aura?" asked Mack as he gripped the steering wheel in his hands.

"Yes," said Aura with nervous laughter, "It's just that I've never been flying before in a machine like this." K-1 smiled at Aura.

"You have nothing to worry about with Mack at the controls," said K-1 as he tried to calm Aura.

"That's good to know," said Aura with a smile.

"Yep. Nothing to worry about, except losing your lunch," said K-1 sarcastically with a big grin on his face.

"Very funny, K-1!" growled Mack as he started up the S-1 while Aura erupted with laughter.

"Have a good trip, Mack," said K-1 as the Air-Car hummed loudly.

"I'll call you when I get to Alakaz," said Mack as he started to drive away. K-1 extended an arm from his chest compartment and waved goodbye as Mack, Aura and the S-1 disappeared into the dense green forest. Moments later, an R-25 walked up to K-1.

"Pardon me, sir, but one of the tools has gone missing," reported the R-25.

"A missing tool, eh? What happened?" asked K-1.

"Another R-25 seems to have lost a wrench while making repairs to the S-1," answered the R-25.

"It's probably of no concern," said K-1. Off in the distance, a pair of eyes in one of the trees watched K-1 closely. This ancient Pokémon had been watching Mack and Aura for some time. His name was Simon and he was a Kabutops. Simon lived only for one thing now: to challenge the world's strongest Pokémon and then defeat them in combat. Simon had witnessed Aura's power on several occasions and the impressive displays only made Simon want to challenge the fair Guardian to a battle even more.


	2. Section 2

**-4-**

Twenty minutes into the flight and all was well. The powerful thunderstorms that surrounded the mountains once every year had finally cleared just a few days ago. The fair weather made the flight in the Air-Car pleasant. While Mack carefully guided the S-1, Aura gazed left and right at the mountainous scenery. Aura had never seen these dark, craggy peaks before.

"Enjoying the view?" asked Mack as he glanced over at Aura.

"Yes," replied Aura with a smile, "I've lived my entire life in Gardev and have never seen these mountains this close before."

"You mean you've never even set foot into the Gardevoir city?" asked Mack with curiosity.

"No. As the first born of my siblings, it was my duty from the beginning to live in and protect Gardev. You know how the male and female guardians wear the sapphire and ruby pendants as a symbol of their duty, right? Well, when I was born, another pendant was put around my neck. It was a diamond pendant, meant for the next guardian," explained Aura with some sadness in her voice, "As I grew, my mother and father taught me about Gardev, the history of the guardians and how to use my powers."

"Ah," said Mack as he carefully kept an eye on the controls and flight instruments.

"I was then told about my one other responsibility," said Aura as she continued her story, "Just weeks after I had evolved into a Gardevoir, my parents told me that one day, I would have to find a mate. A Gardevoir who was not only worthy to be a guardian, but who would also care for me and eventually the two of us would have offspring. Whoever my firstborn is will wear the diamond pendant and will be the next Guardian of Gardev."

"Well, at least we know that you will find your mate on your travels, whoever it is, I know he'll take good care of you and Gardev," said Mack with a grin as he tilted the steering wheel, giving Aura a better view of one of the snow-capped peaks, "What ever happened to your parents anyway and why do Ramirez, Fredrick and Anna live in the Gardevoir city?" Aura's eyes misted over. The only thing that broke the silence was the soft humming from the Air-Car as it slid through the sky.

"I'm sorry…" said Mack, "I shouldn't have asked…"

"It's okay…" said Aura quietly, "I'll tell you. You see, just weeks after I had evolved, my parents disappeared while exploring the forests just outside of Gardev. When they didn't return for several days, everyone in Gardev went out to search for them. After searching for weeks, all we were able to find were their pendants and their wedding rings…"

"That's strange…" said Mack, "Glacian did mention their disappearance."

"When we found out that they were gone, Glacian then made me the new Guardian of Gardev. He took off the diamond pendant and then put the ruby pendant around my neck. It glowed brightly for a few minutes afterwards. Ramirez then decided to take charge of Fredrick and Anna. He took them to the Gardevoir city where he continued to raise them. Fortunately, they would visit me from time to time. It was quite a surprise the day Anna evolved into a Kirlia. Why, she's two years younger than Fredrick!" laughed Aura. Mack chuckled.

"Quite the temper on that one, eh?" said Mack with a grin.

"Yes," said a smiling Aura, "She probably evolved after another fight at school."

"Pardon me for asking, but what would a Ralts or a Kirlia learn in school?" asked a bewildered Mack.

"Oh, just the usual, most important things: ballet, how to use their powers and when to use them. Besides, being a good ballet dancer is a great way to get the attention of the girls," giggled Aura.

"Well, I can't dance, so that rules me out!" said Mack with nervous laughter. Aura closed her eyes and smiled. Suddenly, an alarm on the control panel lit up.

"What's this?" asked Aura as she pointed at the flashing red light on the panel.

"I don't get it…" muttered Mack, "How could the engines be overheating?"

"Are we going to crash?" asked Aura with fear.

"No, but we are going to have to land very soon," said Mack as he quickly looked around for a safe place to set down. A green meadow right below them seemed like a good spot. Mack pressed a few buttons on the panel and gently descended the Air-Car to the ground. Moments after they had landed, Mack jumped out of the driver's seat, grabbed a toolbox from the back of the S-1 and was soon under the Air-Car. Aura stayed in the passenger seat.

"What do you think happened?" asked Aura.

"I'm not sure," replied Mack as he tinkered with the S-1's parts, "Something is causing the cooling units to fail. It's almost like there's some sort of short in the electrical systems." Aura closed her eyes and concentrated.

"Try panel #3 and to the left," said Aura.

"Okay," said Mack as he removed some screws from the access panel. Mack soon removed the panel. Much to his surprise, he found a wrench wedged between the power lines for the cooling units and the power cells.

"Did you find it?" asked Aura as she opened her eyes.

"Yeah," said a surprised Mack, "One of the R-25's must have left it in here by mistake."

"I thought you said they had artificial intelligence," said Aura.

"They do have artificial intelligence, but they still can't think for themselves. All they can do is run programs and since programs are extremely difficult to make perfect, they are bound to make mistakes once in awhile," explained Mack as he put on a thick, rubber glove and then yanked the blackened wrench from its hiding place, "What I'd like to know, is how you knew which access panel to check."

"I'm…not sure…" said an uneasy Aura.

"Well, at least the S-1 will work properly now," said Mack as he climbed out from under the machine, "But it's still going to take an hour or so for this thing to cool off. If we had stayed air-borne for 5 minutes longer, the engines would have started to melt from the inside. May as well just sit back and enjoy the view." While Mack and Aura reclined in the S-1, a Pokémon kept its gaze on them, waiting for the right moment to strike.

"They have no idea that I'm even here;" thought Simon, the ancient Kabutops, "Perfect." Meanwhile, the young Pokémon in the crate were sitting back, trying to enjoy the cramped crate. Anna was not having much fun now.

"Ohhh…" groaned Anna as she slumped against the side of the crate.

"What's wrong?" asked Sakura.

"I think that eighth brownie got the best of me…" said a nauseated Anna.

"Didn't you say this food was the best stuff?" asked a perplexed Li.

"It is the best…" groaned Anna as she tried to smile.

"As long as you don't try to eat a crate of it," said Sakura with soft laughter.

"Words to live by…" said Anna, trying to laugh. Fredrick groaned as he started to wake up with his head in Sakura's lap. Fredrick took one look around the inside of the crate and sighed loudly.

"Let me guess…" started Fredrick as he slowly sat up.

"Yep," said Anna as she started to feel better, "We're with Mack and Aura."

"Hiding in a crate full of junk food," said Li as he interrupted Anna. Fredrick glanced around the crate again and soon noticed that the floor was covered with wrappers.

"Anna tried to eat everything in here, didn't she?" demanded Fredrick.

"Yep…" said Sakura. Fredrick suddenly turned his head to the left.

"There's something out there…whatever it is, its watching us…waiting for the right moment to strike," said Fredrick with concern. Sakura, Li and Anna quickly stood up.

"What should we do?" asked Sakura fearfully.

"Get ready to attack…" said Fredrick softly. Simon leapt silently to a tree at the edge of the forest. He gauged the distance carefully, hoping to jump into the back of the Air-Car and surprise the young Gardevoir. Simon suddenly heard some strange sounds underneath his feet. He glanced down and quickly discovered that the branch he was standing on was breaking under his weight.

"Oh, bother…" grumbled Simon as the branch feel out from under his feet. Mack and Aura suddenly jumped out of the S-1 to find out where the screaming was coming from. Their eyes soon fell on a Kabutops, less than 15 yards away from them.

"Guardian of Gardev! I challenge you…!" said the Kabutops as one of the crates in the back of the S-1 immediately flew open.

"ATTACK!!" screamed Anna as the group of young Pokémon jumped forward and tackled the Kabutops to the ground.

"ACK!!" screamed the Kabutops as it tried to shake the young Pokémon off of himself, "Get them off me!!" Mack and Aura glanced at each other.

"Looks like they managed to follow us after all," said Aura with a nervous smile.

"Indeed…" grumbled Mack as he walked towards the struggling Kabutops, "That's enough! Let him go!"

"But, he was going to attack you!" said Anna with one arm wrapped around the Kabutops' neck and the other arm blazing with electricity.

"There's no need for that. You can lower your Thunder Punch," said Mack as he glanced at Li, who had one of the Kabutops' feet in his giant, toothy maw, "And take that thing out of your mouth, Li! You have no idea where it's been!"

"Good point," said Li nervously as he released his grip. After the young Pokémon had released the Kabutops, the Kabutops got back on its feet and dusted itself off.

"Thank you…" grumbled the Kabutops as it glared at Aura's siblings and friends. Mack didn't know quite what to make of this Pokémon intruder, so he kept his hand at his side-arm, ready to defend himself if needed. The Kabutops glanced at Mack's weapon.

"You can relax, sir, I'm not going to hurt you," said the Kabutops calmly.

"Then why did you try to surprise-attack us?!" demanded Anna as she got another Thunder Punch ready.

"No need to get defensive, young Kirlia, I intended to challenge the Guardian of Gardev to honorable combat," said the Kabutops.

"Who are you then and why do you want to fight Aura?" demanded Mack.

"So, her name is Aura? How fitting for one with such beauty among Pokémon. Anyway, my name is Simon. For millennia, I have traveled the world to fight all the legendary Pokémon as well as the strongest Pokémon in existence," explained Simon, "So far, I have defeated Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Mew and many other legendary and seemingly unstoppable Pokémon. One hundred years ago, I even challenged the ruler of the Gardevoir city. His name was Glacian and he was the only one who ever defeated me and with one shot, I might add!"

"My great-great grandfather was too much for you, wasn't he?" giggled Aura.

"Don't remind me," grumbled Simon, "That was the most embarrassing moment of my entire life."

"Nevertheless, why did you want to fight Aura?" asked Mack again.

"To be honest, I haven't had a decent fight in decades. I've been trying to hunt down the Pokémon known as Mewtwo, but to no avail. I figured that a weaker member of the guardian bloodline would be an excellent opponent for the time being," explained Simon as he gazed at Aura.

"What do you mean 'Weaker?'" scowled Anna, "Aura's the best!" Simon laughed.

"Then why can't the fair guardian use the legendary power of her pendant?" said Simon with spite. Aura and Mack said nothing.

"I think I've proven my point," said Simon, "But don't think of me as being rude. Aura is by far the most powerful Gardevoir I've ever laid my eyes on without the power of that pendant." Mack looked Simon over and could tell that this Kabutops was powerful, even if only physically.

"What do you think, Aura? Will you fight Simon?" asked Mack as he faced Aura.

"Not here," said Aura with hesitation.

"You can tag along with us if you want, I'm sure Aura will accept your challenge after we get to Alakaz," said Mack. Simon eyes opened wide when he heard the name of the nearest town.

"You are on your way to Alakaz? Then I beg of you to take me with you! I heard that an unidentified Pokémon was spotted there just days ago. Maybe I can track it and catch up with it," said Simon.

"And try to pummel it?" said an annoyed Anna.

"Yes, that's the idea," said Simon matter-of-factly.

"Very well," said Mack.

"You sure you can trust this guy?" asked Anna. Aura smiled and put her right arm on Anna's left shoulder.

"He may be violent, but he is honorable. We can trust him," said Aura softly. Mack sighed as he took a closer look at Anna and then the S-1 and immediately noticed the food wrappers on the ground and in the crate.

"At least I now know what happened to the dessert rations," muttered Mack as they boarded the Air-Car. Anna laughed nervously as she jumped into the back of the Air-Car.

"Are you going to take us back to Gardev?" asked Anna quietly and with some fear in her voice.

"Even if I dragged you back to Gardev and had Ramirez chain the lot of you to the ground, I doubt that would stop you from trying to come with Aura and me," muttered Mack as the S-1 came to life with a loud hum and started to lift off the ground, kicking up dust and dirt. Aura giggled quietly as the Air-Car started moving forward.

"I've never been to another city before," said Li.

"Where are we going, anyway?" asked Anna.

"We're on our way to Alakaz," answered Mack as the S-1 accelerated through the mountain passes. Despite the fact that the engines were now cool, Mack couldn't get the S-1 to fly higher than 200 feet off the ground

"Is there something wrong?" asked Aura as she glanced at Mack.

"It must have been the excessive heat," replied Mack as he struggled to get the Air-Car to fly higher, "It must have damaged the repulsors. I can't even get this thing to go faster than fifty miles an hour. Add that to the mountainous terrain and I don't think we're going to get to Alakaz for at least 3 more hours."

**-5-**

Warren sat in his office at city hall, back at Gardev. He was still troubled and unsure about what Glacian had said before. Warren could understand that Glacian and Mack could become good friends, but the one thing that didn't add up was how Glacian had said that something was going to happen to Mack. Whatever it was, it would either empower Mack or destroy him. Warren glanced out the window and saw Glacian walk by on his way back to Warren's house. Glacian soon arrived at Warren's house and then entered Aura's room. There, he found Ramirez pacing nervously back and forth.

"What's the problem, Ramirez?" asked Glacian calmly.

"It's Anna, Fredrick, Sakura and Li! No one has heard from them or seen them since this morning!" replied an irritated Ramirez.

"Do you know where they might be?" asked Glacian.

"I'll bet those little trouble-makers are trying to follow Mack and Aura on their journey. They probably stowed away in a crate or something that Mack had loaded onto one of his machines," grumbled Ramirez. Glacian walked up and took Ramirez by his right hand.

"There's no need to worry, for they are indeed with Mack and Aura. They'll be safe with them. You know as well as I that Mack and Aura would never let anyone hurt them," said Glacian as he tried to calm Ramirez down.

"I guess, but I'm worried about Anna starting another fight or getting them into trouble once again," said Ramirez unhappily. Glacian just smiled and held Ramirez's emerald pendant in his hand.

"You don't have to worry; besides, Mack also has Xavier and William to watch over them. They will be fine," said Glacian as he let the pendant fall out of his hand, "After all, you need to watch over Gardev until they return."

"You're right," said Ramirez as he finally calmed down and then sat down on Aura's bed. Glacian gazed at Ramirez.

"You're like your father when he was younger," remarked Glacian as he started to leave the room. Glacian suddenly stopped in his tracks and faced Ramirez.

"Do you sense something?" asked Ramirez.

"Tell me," said Glacian as he sat next to Ramirez, "What do you make of Dr. Foxx?" Ramirez sat silently for a moment, thinking carefully.

"I see that he's an honorable and powerful being, even though he's from a different world, I can trust him, I can even say that he's my friend," replied Ramirez.

"That's good," said Glacian with a smile, "Because you are going to be seeing him a lot in the coming years."


	3. Section 3

**-6-**

What was only supposed to be an hour's journey had soon become a long trek to Alakaz. Mack could finally see the city lights on the horizon along with the colorful sunset. The grey peaks of the Gardev Mountains were quickly becoming dark and the young Pokémon had fallen asleep during the flight. As darkness fell, the only lights near Mack were the buttons, gauges and screens on the S-1. Aura was sleeping too and her ruby pendant was glowing faintly. Mack checked his maps and soon saw a highway just a few hundred yards from his position. Mack figured it would be better if he drove into Alakaz instead of flying. He knew he was going to attract a lot of attention just because of his face and due to the news reports that had spread through the television networks like wild fire. While Mack descended to the highway below, Simon kept a vigilant eye on the young Pokémon as they slept. The time was now 7:57 PM and Mack decided that they should get to a hotel. Though Mack had modified his DNA over the years to remove frailties, he never had bothered to find to way to make it so he would no longer need sleep.

"So, you heard something about an unidentified Pokémon?" asked Mack. He wanted to have a conversation, mostly as a means to make what was left of the trip to Alakaz less monotonous.

"Yes," replied Simon, "The Pokémon that was mentioned was a large golden bird of sorts. At least that's what I've heard from other Pokémon who traveled through Alakaz to the mountains over the last few days."

"A golden bird, eh? Interesting," said Mack, "That sounds like Zapdos."

"No. This wasn't Zapdos. I defeated him centuries ago," said Simon as Mack drove the S-1 up to a large building within the city. Fortunately for Mack, no one had really noticed him, the Pokémon or his hovering car.

"This place should do. I just need a room with large balcony for Xavier. He sleeps best outside his Pokéball. Just like William," said Mack as he gently tapped on Aura's shoulder.

"Yes? Are we there?" yawned Aura.

"We're going to stay here for the night," said Mack as he jumped out of the S-1 while Aura woke up Anna, Sakura, Li and Fredrick. They entered the hotel through some bronze and glass doors on the front. Inside, marble floors, bronze columns and crystal chandeliers greeted them.

"Isn't this a bit too fancy?" asked an uneasy Aura.

"We're going to a need a large suite with a balcony. According to the information in the S-1's computer, this is the only place in the entire city that has what we'll need," explained Mack as Aura, Simon and the groggy, young Pokémon followed him to the front desk. The clerk looked up from reading a newspaper and almost jumped from the surprise of the group coming towards the desk. The clerk soon recognized the person in the front of the group.

"Wait…" said the clerk, "You're Dr. Foxx! I saw your picture in the paper just a few days ago. I read about you protecting Gardev as well as you trying to stop some sort of criminal organization. What were they called: Cipher?"

"Yes," answered Mack as he read a book that listed information about the hotel, "I'll have to book the honeymoon suite here. It's the only thing big enough for us."

"That's going to be quite pricey; besides, the suite is too large for just you, a Gardevoir, a Kabutops and those younger Pokémon," said the clerk as he checked the readout from a computer on the desk.

"It's the only room with a large balcony. I'll need that for my Lugia," said Mack as the clerk went wide-eyed.

"You have a Lugia?!" shouted the clerk with surprise.

"Indeed I do," answered Mack as the clerk tried to regain his composure, "I also have a Pikachu with me."

"Okay, I can understand that," said the clerk as he walked over to a cash register, "It's still going to be $3,500 for one night in there for you and your Pokémon."

"I'm not his…!" said Simon as Aura quickly put her right hand over Simon's mouth. The clerk gazed at Simon with a bewildered look on his face. Aura let go of Simon's mouth.

"It couldn't be…" stammered the clerk.

"Kabutops! Ka-bu-tops!" said Simon gruffly.

"Must be the long hours here," said the clerk with relief, "I thought for a second I heard that Kabutops talk!"

"Gardev, Gard, Gardevoir!" said Aura angrily at Simon.

"Quiet! We don't want to draw unwanted attention!" is what Mack heard Aura say.

"Okay," said the clerk as he typed at the computer, "One adult and eight Pokémon for the suite." Just as Mack was about to hand his debit card to the clerk, he heard someone cough from behind him. Mack and the Pokémon quickly faced a tall man in a dark blue, pinstriped suit.

"What have we here?" asked the man to the clerk.

"Just Dr. Foxx and some Pokémon," said the clerk nervously, "They were just about to lease the honeymoon suite for the night since they need such a large room and the balcony."

"My Lugia, Xavier, only sleeps well outside his Pokéball," said Mack.

"Dr. Foxx is it?" asked the man as he extended his right hand, "Well, then! I'm the owner of this hotel: my name is John Allens! It's a pleasure to have you here, Dr. Foxx!"

"Thank you," said Mack politely as he shook John's hand. John faced the clerk.

"So, how much was it for them to stay in the suite for the night?" asked John.

"$3,500 for the night," answered the clerk.

"Ah," said John as he walked past Mack, "I say we let them stay the first night for free, what do you think?"

"Whatever you say, sir!" answered the clerk.

"Very good," said John as he faced Mack, "I hope you'll find your stay at my hotel to be quite pleasant. If there's anything you need, I'm sure that room service can help you out."

"Thank you," said Mack.

"Need help with any luggage?" asked John.

"I didn't bring any, but thanks for asking," replied Mack.

"Okay," said John as he started to leave the lobby, "Have a pleasant night!" The clerk quickly gave Mack the key.

"He must admire you for your deeds in Gardev," said the clerk with glee.

"I guess so," said Mack as he took the key, "Okay, everyone, lets get some sleep!" Mack and the Pokémon soon were on their way to the suite. Once inside, they discovered that their room was even fancier than the lobby.

"Talk about living things up!" said Li with amazement.

"I'll have to have room service bring me some ice cream, doughnuts, cookies and cake!" said Anna with excitement.

"I think you've had enough sugar for one day…" muttered Fredrick, "After all, you ate almost all the desserts that Mack brought with him!"

"But I didn't so much as touch the chocolate bars, so there!" said Anna in an annoying tone as she stuck her tongue out at Fredrick.

"Yeah!" said Sakura with nervous laughter, "That was Li!"

"That's enough," said Aura gently as she picked up Anna in her arms, "No more fighting you two." Fredrick and Anna glared at each other. Mack decided to explore the room a bit more. He soon discovered a Jacuzzi, spacious rooms and a large bed with red sheets in the bedroom.

"Where shall I sleep?" yawned Aura as she entered the room behind Mack.

"You can take the bed. It's probably more comfortable than your bed back in Gardev," answered Mack as he looked around the room.

"Where will you sleep, then?" asked Aura.

"Probably in the living room," said Mack as he stretched his arms over his head, "The couch should suffice."

"You should have the bed since you've worked so hard to get us here," said Aura. Mack laughed.

"No thank you, besides, I said I would take good care of you, so you can sleep in here," said Mack as there was a knock at the door. Mack ran to the door and answered it.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you," said John cautiously.

"Not at all," said Mack as Aura walked over to Mack's side.

"Good," said John as he wiped some sweat off his forehead with a white handkerchief, "I was just going to invite you to a private Pokémon tournament tomorrow. It's just for the city's elite. Why, everyone of importance will be there tomorrow. The mayor is even looking forward to meeting you there. The rules are simple: it's a single-elimination tournament. You can only enter one Pokémon. Would you be interested in joining in? I, for one, would like to see your skills as a trainer." Mack glanced over at Aura.

"What do you think, Aura? Would you like to be in the tournament?" asked Mack. Aura smiled and nodded her head.

"We'll be there!" said Mack with excitement.

"Good, just be sure that you don't bring any firearms into the battle room. It's against the law around here," said John as he pointed at the pistol at Mack's side, "The tournament will be in the Alakaz First National Bank. You can't miss it, it's the tallest building in the city."

"We'll be fighting in a bank?" asked a confused Mack.

"There's a large battle room and seating on the 60th floor," said John as he started to leave, "I look forward to seeing you there." John soon left the doorway and Mack quickly closed and locked the door.

"Are you sure about this, Aura?" asked Mack, "You could get hurt badly in a fight and what if you face off against a Dark Type?" Aura smiled and formed an orb of light in her right hand.

"I don't think I have to worry about that," said Aura with a grin. Before long, they were all getting ready for bed. Mack released Xavier out onto the balcony where Fredrick and Li soon fell asleep under one of Xavier's wings. Sakura and Anna stole a few pillows off the bed and slept in Aura's room while Mack and William soon fell asleep on the couch.

**-7-**

Elsewhere, Dr. Namwen stood alone in a dark room with metal walls, filled with giant computers and a large, clear capsule in the middle of the room. The din of electronic beeps and clicks filled the room and the buttons and panels of lights blinked endlessly. A Cipher trooper entered the room and saluted Dr. Namwen.

"Good evening, sir," said the trooper.

"Good evening, indeed, captain," said Dr. Namwen as he faced the trooper. The trooper wasn't sure, but in the dimly-lit room, Dr. Namwen's eyes seemed to have a slight, red glow to them.

"When will you be going to sleep sir?" asked the trooper.

"I don't sleep, remember, captain?" said an irritated Dr. Namwen, "Tell me, captain, do you know why this is a good evening?"

"Because Cipher is planning its first major strike in the Orre region?" asked the trooper.

"Besides that," said Dr. Namwen with a grin on his darkened face. The trooper was starting to get unnerved at the sound of Dr. Namwen's raspy breathing.

"I don't know…" said the trooper uneasily.

"A trap has been set for the Guardian of Gardev and for that aggravating alien warrior," said Dr. Namwen with delight, "That and I'm one step closer to snagging the ultimate Pokémon prize, locally speaking."

"What do you mean, locally?" asked the trooper with curiosity.

"My prize lies in Gardev: one of the bloodline of the guardians," said Dr. Namwen with glee, "It is almost in my grasp."

"You mean Project Epsilon Mk II?" asked the trooper.

"Of course, captain. With the improved Project Epsilon, not only will I be able to catch one of the Guardian's blood relatives, but the Gardevoir of my choice will also know of the location of the legendary Gardevoir city! With the location of the Gardevoir city, all the Ralts, Kirlia and Gardevoir will belong to me. I remember hearing legends of a samurai army that apparently came close to the fabled city. They wanted to capture the Ralts, Kirlia and Gardevoir to force them to join their army, but they were all driven away by ghostly apparitions of demons and monsters. Soon, I will fulfill their long-lost dream."

"An army of psychic Pokémon is promising," said the trooper.

"But that's not all, captain," said Dr. Namwen with an evil grin on his face, "I'm not sure whether I should believe Cecil's reports or not. He said that when the Guardian pinned him, he could tell that the alien mercenary and the Guardian were in the same body. Imagine what we could do if we could combine humans with Pokémon DNA? What if we could use the powers of Pokémon against our enemies? They could never stand before us! The world would belong to Cipher!" The trooper quietly walked away as Dr. Namwen erupted with maniacal laughter. This trooper had heard that Dr. Namwen was brilliant, but also insane. The rumors were nothing compared to what he had just heard.

**-8-**

Anna was sitting outside on the balcony, drawing a picture with some pens and some paper she had found in one of the containers on the S-1. Xavier and William kept a close eye on the young Pokémon. Though the weather was pleasant: sunny and without a cloud in the sky, Anna was thoroughly irritated.

"Are you still mad at them?" asked Sakura as she and Fredrick practiced ballet together.

"Of course I am!" grumbled Anna as she angrily ground the pen into the marble floor, "They went to the tournament and didn't even ask if I wanted to come!"

"The rules were that only one Pokémon could participate. Besides, Mack and Aura would be too busy to keep an eye on you," said Li as he sipped some lemonade. Sakura laughed at Li as he sat back; wearing the pair of sunglasses that Paul had given to Mack back at Gardev while he was bonded with Aura.

"Who says I need someone to watch over me?!" yelled Anna as she threw the pen off the balcony. Xavier quickly reached out and caught it with his mouth.

"Your temper is quite a weakness for you, Anna," said Xavier as he placed the pen back on the ground.

"Kinda hard to imagine that something so cute could be so sour!" laughed Li. Anna glared at Li.

"Relax, sis!" said Fredrick as he continued to dance with Sakura, "Think about what's going on! Here we are, relaxing in a ritzy hotel in a big city that we've never been to before!"

"We've never left Gardev or the mountains before," giggled Sakura, "May as well enjoy our little vacation."

"Good point," said Anna as she finally started to feel better.

"But no matter what, no room service for you! The last thing the people at this hotel need is for someone to eat them out of house and home!" said William with a grin. Anna blushed and laughed loudly.

"That reminds me," said William as he walked over to Xavier's side, "Where on earth did Simon go?"

"Simon said he had some things to take care of, so he left right after Mack and Aura did," said Xavier.

"You suppose he's after that Pokémon?" asked William.

"That's possible," said Xavier as he gazed at the laughing young Pokémon, "I'll bet that he went out to find clues about it or maybe even to try and track it. He only lives for combat now and he won't rest until he's either defeated or fought against the world's strongest Pokémon."


	4. Section 4

**-9-**

Mack and Aura were walking down the street towards the Alakaz First National Bank. The town's people stared and marveled at the site of an anthropomorphic fox and a beautiful Gardevoir walking together.

"That's Dr. Foxx, isn't it?" asked an old man.

"I wonder where that Gardevoir got that incredible pendant," said a young woman.

"I'll bet it was a gift from Dr. Foxx to her for winning several battles," said the young woman's boyfriend. Aura glanced over at Mack, who seemed to be very nervous.

"Why are you so uneasy?" asked Aura quietly.

"I may not have to hide my face now due to my popularity, but I'm still not used to being in crowds," whispered Mack, "Believe me, I'll feel much better once we get to the bank." Soon, Mack and Aura finally arrived at the bank. As they entered through the front doors, John greeted them.

"Ah! Glad you could make it, Dr. Foxx," said John with a grin, "And I see you brought your gorgeous Gardevoir as well. I bet she'll win the tournament."

"You think so?" asked Mack.

"Yes, but you'll have to get past me first!" said John as he stroked a growling Houndoom, "I've never lost a match, Dr. Foxx and I'm not going to start today. If you can make it to the finals, I'll get to see what you're made of."

"I won't disappoint you. Just watch," said Mack.

"May the best trainer and their Pokémon win," said John as he and Mack shook hands. John led them to an elevator. Minutes later, they were on the 60th floor and behind a set of large, bronze double-doors; they gazed upon the marble floor of the battle room. Around the arena, people sat in chairs behind several feet of bullet-proof glass. Though the arena was well lit, Mack could not tell who was in the dimly-lit crowd. Another person nearby caught his attention: a short man, wrapped in a brown trench coat with a fedora on his head.

"Ah! Who might you be?" asked Mack. The cloaked figure did not answer.

"He seems pretty shy," remarked Aura.

"Best of luck to you," said Mack as he walked by him. The man nodded his head. Soon a man's booming voice was heard in the arena.

"Welcome one and all to the 43rd annual Private Cup Tournament! As you all know, this a private tournament for the elite of Alakaz. Best of all, there are no reporters or journalists! No one else has to know about this tournament except for who are champion is!" said an announcer over the PA system.

"Looks like a tournament for only the wealthy," said Mack quietly.

"Well, maybe we can show these arrogant…people a thing or two," said Aura as she winked at Mack. The trainers lined up on opposite sides of the field.

"The first round of opponents shall be determined randomly…" said the announcer, "And our first combatants are…Dr. Mack Foxx and his Gardevoir, Aura versus Dr. Jones!" The crowd roared as Mack and Aura took their positions on the field. Soon, the short man in the brown trench coat strutted onto the field.

"Oh, so we get to fight him first, very well," said Mack to himself. Aura seemed to be very worried about their opponent.

"This round will be a one-on-one fight with no time limit. Let the match begin!" said the announcer as a loud bell rang overhead in the arena. Mack glared at the opposing trainer while Aura got ready. Suddenly, the man ripped off his trench coat and threw the fedora aside, revealing a Kabutops. The crowd went silent.

"Simon?!" shouted Mack with extreme surprise as Aura's eyes opened wide with shock.

"This is a first! Somehow, a wild Pokémon managed to enter the competition unnoticed. Let me check the records…" said the announcer as he started flipping through some books on his desk.

"Now, fair Guardian of Gardev, we shall fight and find out who is the strongest!" shouted Simon from the other side of the field.

"Just a moment here, people, while I check the tournament rules," said the announcer.

"You've got to be crazy!" shouted Mack.

"Maybe," said Simon with spite.

"I have what I'm looking for right here!" said the announcer, "It says here that a trainer may enter the tournament with one Pokémon. Since the word 'Trainer' is not defined as being human or anything thereof, this Kabutops may legally fight in the tournament, even if he is his own trainer."

"Now, let's begin!" said Simon as several copies of him suddenly appeared.

"He knows, Double-Team? Oh, dear…" thought Mack. Aura just shook her head with dismay as her pendant started to glow. She thrust her hands forward and a blast of light shot out across the arena, hitting one of the Kabutops squarely. Instantly, Simon's clones vanished as he yelled out and was blown off the field and out of bounds. The loud boom shook the arena and the stands.

"Impossible…no Gardevoir can be…that…strong…" said Simon weakly as he struggled to get to his feet.

"Taken down with one hit! It's a one-hit wonder!" said the announcer, "Dr. Jones is down, ladies and gentlemen! Dr. Foxx is the winner!" Aura smiled, ran over to Mack and embraced him, much to Mack's surprise.

"I…demand a…rematch…!" gasped Simon as some people put him on a stretcher.

"It's off to the healing chamber for that one!" chuckled the announcer as Simon was carted off the field, "I don't know about you people, but I have never seen a Gardevoir use an attack like that! In fact, I've never seen a Pokémon that could use white light as an attack! This is absolutely amazing!"

"Aura…" said Mack softly, "You're squeezing me too hard…" Aura blushed and quickly let go of him. Mack and Aura turned and gazed at Simon as he was being taken off the field.

"Let's take this one down below!" said one of the medics as they and Simon disappeared behind a large, green door.

"You've got to give that Kabutops some credit, people. That was one brave move to enter the tournament on his own, but he was obviously out of his league here!" said the announcer as the crowd roared and cheered.

"That was…disappointing…" said Aura, "The way he talked, I thought it would be a tough battle. Physically, Simon would have been a very tough opponent, but he can't seem to attack from a distance. His Double-Team move was also useless. Using my senses, I could easily tell which of those clones was living."

"Plus, you have my power over light now," said Mack.

"Of course," said Aura with a grin.

"Still, I wonder who our next opponent is," said Mack.

"Alright, everybody! The next match will begin soon!" said the announcer as Mack and Aura slowly walked off the field.

**-10-**

Though he was barely conscious, Simon could still tell what was going on around him as the medics carted him away, must likely to a nearby Pokémon center.

"Where should we take this thing?" asked one medic.

"Let's put him in the doctor's office, he'll know what to do with him," answered another medic.

"What do you think he'll do?" asked the first medic.

"I know this creep," said the second medic, "Let's just say that we wouldn't want to be in this Kabutops' shoes once the doctor sees him."

"I can't believe this Kabutops thought it could take on the Guardian of Gardev! What an idiot!" laughed the first medic.

"No kidding!" said the second medic.

"They sure are full of a lot of malice to be medics," thought Simon as he started to black out, "And how do they know that Aura is the Guardian of Gardev?"

**-11-**

Mack and Aura went through one match after another. Aura was starting to learn how to use her new power more effectively, thus, they eliminated the competition without a single scratch. As Aura blasted another opponent off the field, Mack was wondering why the opponents weren't even putting up much of a fight and why the audience was obscured behind darkness, even thought the arena itself was well lit.

"I don't understand this," thought Mack as he glanced back and forth, "Aura has flattened every single opponent so far, and they haven't even tried to fight. Is Aura really that powerful now? Perhaps the lightshow that Aura has been putting on has frightened our competitors and they've already given up?" Aura glanced at Mack as she read his thoughts.

"I have to agree with you, Mack," said Aura through telepathy, "They seem to be losing on purpose."

"Maybe the other trainers want to minimize the damage you're doing to their Pokémon," thought Mack, "Better to throw in the towel after you know you're outmatched rather than forfeit."

"I suppose," said Aura telepathically as they both walked back off the field.

"This is almost too good to be true, though! We've made it to the finals. Best of all, you haven't been hurt, Aura. I'm very thankful for that," thought Mack.

"I knew you cared about me, but I didn't know you cared that much. Thank you," said Aura through telepathy as she smiled.

"Your welcome," thought Mack, "But still, I can't shake the feeling that we're being set up or something."

"Don't worry, Mack," said Aura telepathically, "This will be the easiest trophy you've ever scored in a Pokémon tournament. Not like that match against some kid whose rebellious Charizard set your fur on fire."

"Don't remind me…" grumbled Mack. Aura laughed softly as they left the field.

"Nothing can stop Mack and Aura!" said the announcer, "But soon, he'll have to face the undefeated champion, John Allens! His Houndoom has crushed the competition with almost the same precision and ruthlessness as Mack's young Gardevoir! That match will begin in ten minutes!"

**-12-**

Simon started to wake up. His wounds had been healed while he had been unconscious, but his vision was still blurry. He could clearly hear the humming and clicking of some giant machines in the room. He slowly moved his right scythe forward and his blade was abruptly stopped by an invisible barrier. As his vision started to clear, he discovered that he had been imprisoned in some sort of capsule.

"If this is a Pokémon healing chamber, than I'm a cross-eyed Magikarp!" grumbled Simon. In front of him, stood a man in a lab coat with six black Alakazams behind him.

"What a fine specimen," said the man in a dry, raspy voice. Simon knew this disturbing voice all too well.

"No! It can't be!" shouted Simon with dismay.

"We meet again," said Dr. Namwen as he straightened his glasses, "I can't remember how many times I've tried to capture you and each and every time, you've narrowly evaded my grasp."

"I'm not going to be anyone's Pokémon, you hear me, Dr. Newman!" growled Simon as Dr. Namwen jumped back with surprise. His shock soon turned to rage.

"Excuse me," said Dr. Namwen with an evil grin on his face, "But what did you call me?"

"You are Dr. Alvin Newman," growled Simon as he tried to cut out of the capsule with his scythes, but to no avail. Dr. Namwen walked over to a red lever on a nearby wall.

"I want nothing to do with my worthless brother, Eric and there is no way you can escape that capsule from the inside," snarled Dr. Namwen as he put his right hand on the lever. Dr. Namwen faced Simon and laughed maniacally.

"What are you doing?" demanded Simon.

"Why, we're going to play a little game!" said Dr. Namwen as he stroked the lever with his left hand, "It's my favorite game! Now, tell me: what is my name?" Simon snorted with contempt.

"As I said before, you are Dr. Newman," grumbled Simon as Dr. Namwen flashed a menacing smile.

"Wrong answer!" laughed Dr. Namwen as he pulled the level. Instantly, electricity lanced inside the capsule. Simon dropped to the ground from the immense pain. Suddenly, Dr. Namwen reset the lever and the electricity vanished.

"You fiend…" growled Simon as he got back to his feet.

"Now, what is my name again?" asked Dr. Namwen.

"Your name is Dr. Alvin Newman!" shouted Simon with rage.

"You're getting warmer my friend!" laughed Dr. Namwen as he threw the lever again. Simon howled in pain as the raw voltage shot through the capsule again. Seconds later, Dr. Namwen turned off the lethal lightning.

"…If I could…just get out of here…I'd have your head…" groaned Simon as he sat down on the cold, metal floor of the capsule.

"I'm a kind, compassionate man!" laughed Dr. Namwen, "So I'll give you one more chance to get my name right, otherwise, I'll throw this lever again and have you fried up for my dinner! I'll bet that Kabutops taste better than Corphish or Crabby! So, what is my name?"

"Your name…" said Simon as he glared at Dr. Namwen, "Is mud." Dr. Namwen instantly went slacked jawed as his arm released the lever and fell limply at his side. Dr. Namwen grinned at Simon.

"You always had quite the sense of humor!" said Dr. Namwen with a chuckle, "But that little frailty will soon be annihilated once I have you turned into a shadow Pokémon! Then you will call me, 'Master!'"

"For now, I'll just call you a blithering idiot," said Simon calmly.

"You'll be singing a different tune in a matter of minutes. You think that lightning was painful? That's nothing compared to what you'll feel as you're infused with darkness," said a delighted Dr. Namwen.

"How could I have fallen into this fiend's clutches?" thought Simon, "And where in the world am I?!"

"I'll be happy to answer those questions! You won't be aware of anything around you soon, anyway!" said Dr. Namwen with glee as he feverishly pressed switches on a control console, "To be honest, I didn't expect that you would enter the tournament. I guess it's just an added bonus. After all, your fate is going to be heaven compared to what's going to happen to that irritating mercenary and his hateful Gardevoir! Just to let you know, we are precisely 400 feet underground in a secret facility."


	5. Section 5

**-13-**

The final match had arrived. The crowd roared and cheered as the finalists entered the arena.

"Now for the main event!" said the announcer, "The final battle of the tournament is now at hand! We have Dr. Mack Foxx and his amazing Gardevoir, Aura, versus John Allens and his powerhouse Houndoom!"

"May the best Pokémon win!" shouted Mack with a friendly smile.

"Indeed!" said John, "Now you face us. We'll see who's going to get out of here alive."

"What was that all about?" thought Mack as he glanced uneasily at the darkened crowd, "Something is amiss, I just know it."

"The match will begin now!" said the announcer, "Then again, why waste the time with another pointless battle, right ladies and gents?" Aura quickly walked back to Mack's side.

"We're in big trouble, aren't we?" asked Mack as he glanced at Aura. Aura nodded her head in agreement.

"Dr. Mack Foxx, you are now the prisoner of Cipher! Just simply surrender and you and Aura will not be harmed in any way, agreed?" asked the announcer.

"And if we refuse?" growled Mack.

"Then, I'll just have to introduce you to your real…final opponents!" said the announcer with cruel laughter. The stands suddenly filled with light, revealing hundreds of people in white, glistening armor. All at once, they threw Pokéballs into the arena. As the Cipher agents' Pokémon appeared, their trainers ran onto the field armed with crowbars, truncheons and tactical batons. Mack and Aura were now back-to-back with malicious Pokémon on one side and the evil henchmen on the other. Mack gazed carefully at the Pokémon and focused. A familiar black aura materialized around the red-eyed Pokémon.

"Shadow Pokémon…" thought Mack with fear, "These peons could order their Pokémon to kill us and they would without hesitation."

"What do we do now?" asked Aura. Mack quickly looked around the room as the gang of Pokémon and troopers moved closer. Mack's eyes soon fell on an emergency exit. Mack glanced at Aura.

"Head for the exit over there, I'll protect you!" said Mack as he started to focus his power.

"On the contrary!" said Aura forcefully as she faced Mack, "I will protect YOU!" Mack and Aura stared into each other's eyes. Mack grinned and faced his attackers.

"On three?" asked Mack.

"On three," answered Aura as her hands started to glow with a brilliant white light.

"Get ready!" shouted John.

"THREE!!!" screamed Mack and Aura as they rushed forward. The agents and Pokémon screamed as Mack and Aura knocked them to the ground with one explosive blast of light after another. Aura glared at the shadow Pokémon and started to focus her power even more. The agents, Pokémon and Mack stared at Aura as she slowly lifted off the ground with her skirt fluttering in the wind and her pendant glowing brightly. Mack hit the ground as an orb of blinding light surrounded Aura.

"Here comes trouble!" thought Mack as he closed his eyes and braced himself. Moments later, the orb exploded outwards as a wave of light knocked the Pokémon and agents to the ground. Mack opened his eyes and gazed at the agents' Pokémon. The dark aura around them was dissolving. Mack had been completely untouched by Aura's attack.

"What happened?" asked one agent as he looked at his Pokémon, "That Gardevoir! She purified my Pokémon!"

"No matter!" said another agent as the rest of them ordered their Pokémon to attack Aura. The Pokémon attacked viciously. Though they missed Aura, they managed to separate her and Mack during the brutal fighting. While Aura fended off the frenzied Pokémon, Mack tried to hold his own against the agents.

"There's no way I can keep blasting them with my power," thought Mack as he darted back and forth to avoid getting hit by one of the agent's blunt weapons, "I'll have to rely on martial arts." Mack lunged forward and with a flurry of punches and kicks, he incapacitated one agent after another. As the agents fell to the ground unconscious, Mack started slowing down. Aura quickly glanced at Mack, sensing his fatigue.

"Oh, no! He can't keep this up for long!" thought Aura with fear. Aura tried as hard a she could to get through the attacking Pokémon and help Mack, but there were too many of them. As Mack knocked one agent to the ground, another came up and struck him in the back with a crowbar. Mack howled with pain and quickly turned around and knocked the agent off his feet with sweeping kick under his legs. Mack was running out of energy fast and he knew it. Mack knew his only way of escape would be to run out the emergency exit. He lunged forward, fighting off the sea of agents as he went. His speed was slowing down and he kept taking hits that he normally would not have. Mack's vision blurred as he was struck repeatedly. Blindly, he jumped into a dark corner and fell to the ground in the shadows. Aura screamed as Mack hit the floor. Once again, she tried to blast her way through the throng of Pokémon, but she still could not get through the hundreds of them that blocked her path. The agents cautiously approached the fallen mercenary.

"You think he's dead?" asked one agent with concern.

"He better not be! Dr. Namwen ordered us to take him alive!" said another agent.

"After what he did to our friends? Let's finish him off! Dr. Namwen won't need this freak's help!" shouted another agent. The agents ran forward with their weapons drawn: some of them trying to destroy Mack, the rest tried to hold back their blood-thirsty colleagues. Suddenly, a pair of glowing white eyes appeared in the shadows. The agents turned around and ceased their attack. They started to back off in fear. Moments later, a wave of light sent them and their Pokémon flying backwards into the stands. Aura wasn't even effected by the blast of light. Aura faced the corner where Mack had fallen. As she ran to his side, the white, glowing eyes faded.

"Everyone, retreat!" ordered one agent. Immediately, the rest of them collected their Pokémon and scattered. Aura knelt down next to Mack and held his right hand.

"What happened…?" asked a weary Mack.

"They ran off!" said Aura as she closed her eyes and concentrated, "They left the building and are on their way out of the city."

"…Good…" groaned Mack.

"I better get you out of here and to a hospital," said Aura.

"…No…" said Mack as he slumped against the wall, "…Simon…he's here…down below. Take the stairs…You'll have to…set him free."

"What about you?" asked Aura with great concern.

"I'll be okay for now…" said Mack, "Now, go!" Aura released Mack's hand and ran for the emergency exit. As she descended the stairs, she could sense Simon down below.

**-14-**

Moments earlier, a loud explosion rattled the control room, knocking Dr. Namwen and his dark Alakazams off their feet.

"What in blazes was that?! It sounds like the whole building is coming down!" yelled Dr. Namwen as he stood up and glared at Simon, "Perfect!"

"Where are you off to?" asked Simon as Dr. Namwen ran for the door behind his Alakazams.

"Let's just say I don't want to get pan-caked under this building! Farewell, Simon! You're about to become a Kabutops Crepe'!" laughed Dr. Namwen as he started to close the door.

"Until we meet again…" said Simon in an annoying tone, "…Dr. Newman." The door closed silently and then Simon heard Dr. Namwen scream in rage as he ran down the hallway.

"If this is my end, so be it," thought Simon as he sat down and cleared his mind. Minutes later, the door in the control room was blown off its hinges with a psychic blast. Simon opened his eyes and gazed at Aura.

"We have to get out of here!" said Aura frantically, "Mack was badly injured!" Simon bowed his head with dismay.

"Were we all fooled so easily?" asked Simon with grief.

"This is no time to feel sorry for ourselves!" said Aura with resolve as she pointed to the capsule, "Now, break out of that thing so we can leave this horrible place!"

"It's no good," grumbled Simon, "The walls are too thick and some sort of barrier is preventing my scythes from even touching the sides. You'll have to use the control console to open the capsule," said Simon calmly as Aura ran to the control panel.

"Is this the right panel?" asked Aura.

"That should be the right panel, but it's probably password-protected. You'll have to hack the system in order to get the capsule opened," said Simon.

"But only Mack could do that!" said Aura.

"You'll have to try!" said Simon, "We really shouldn't stay here any longer than we have to! They'll probably be back and with bigger Pokémon!" Aura gazed at the panel. For some reason, Aura felt confident about this, even though she had never so much as touched a computer before. Aura placed her hands on the keyboard and quickly pressed the keys. Before long, she was reading the source code for the operating system and she understood it! Simon looked into Aura's eyes and saw the strange lettering being reflected in her eyes from the computer screen. Deep in the system, Aura found what she was looking for.

"P-R-O-J-E-C-T-O-M-E-G-A!" said Aura as she entered the password. Moments later, the capsule opened. Simon jumped out of the capsule and sighed with relief.

"How did you do that?" asked Simon with disbelief.

"I…I don't know," said Aura uneasily, "It seemed, familiar to me."

"I've never heard of a Pokémon that had such knowledge about computers," marveled Simon.

"Maybe it's a side effect," said Aura as she gazed fearfully at her hands.

"A side effect of what?" asked Simon with curiosity.

"I don't want to talk about it," said Aura was she started to leave the room.

"Is this about the time you and Mack were in the same body? I already know about that," said Simon as Aura stopped in her tracks, "I also know how you were separated during the destruction of another Cipher facility."

"How'd you know?" asked Aura.

"Well, I do have limited psychic abilities," answered Simon, "But I know all this because I've been following you for a long time, waiting to challenge you."

"You've been stalking me?!" shouted Aura with disgust.

"You could say that," said Simon with embarrassment, "But I prefer to call it, 'Checking out the Competition.'"

"We better get going now. Mack needs our help!" said Aura frantically as she started running out the door to the stairs. Simon followed closely.

**-15-**

Once again, Mack awoke with his vision blurred and his senses thoroughly scrambled. Mack's body ached with pain as he tried to sit up.

"He's waking up!" said a familiar voice. As Mack's vision cleared, he was greeted by the face of a Gardevoir.

"Aura?" asked Mack.

"I'm here," said Aura as Simon stepped forward.

"How long have I been asleep?" asked Mack.

"You've been asleep for a week now," answered Aura.

"A week, eh? Looks like I'm making a bad habit of this," said Mack as he tried to laugh. Aura smiled.

"Incase you wanted to know, Xavier, William and the young Pokémon are outside," said Simon.

"Can you tell me how I got here?" asked Mack as he tried to tune his senses.

"Well," started Aura, "After I freed Simon, I came back to you, took you up in my arms, then Simon and I ran back to the hotel. Apparently, Cipher had tried to steal the S-1, but Xavier and the lot of them scared them off. Simon and I put you in the back of the S-1. As I jumped into the pilot's seat, I discovered that the Cipher agents had tried to hotwire the Air-Car, so many of the wires in the control panel had been cut. After I got some wires tied together, I started it up and drove you to the other side of Alakaz to the nearest hospital. On the way to the hospital, I contacted K-1 and he came in something he called an S-5 Heavy Carrier."

"But why an S-5?" asked Mack.

"Because it was the only thing we had that was large enough to accommodate a Lugia as well as the damaged S-1," answered K-1 as he walked into the room.

"K-1!" said Aura, "Aren't you watching over Sakura, Fredrick, Anna and Li?"

"No problem," answered K-1 as he walked towards Mack, "Xavier is watching over them and believe me, Xavier is capable of causing much more damage than I can."

"Speaking of damage…" groaned Mack as he lay back down in his bed, "I'm going to need to get back to the lab to heal…"

"As soon as I can figure out how to get you out of here unnoticed, I'll let you know," said K-1.

"Can't the doctor's here help Mack?" asked Aura.

"I'm afraid not," answered K-1, "You see, years ago, Mack had modified his DNA to make his flesh and skeleton tougher. He was also able to make himself immune to disease and to poisons. However, there was one major side effect of his augmentation: whenever he actually gets injured, it now takes months for even a simple wound to heal properly. Therefore, Mack invented a device called a Cell Regenerator. This technological wonder can heal the body of just about any ailment by making the body heal thousands of times faster than normal. Theoretically, it could regenerate lost limbs or bring you back, even if death is imminent."

"I understand," said Aura. K-1 faced Simon.

"Simon, if you don't mind, I would like to have a word with you outside. A few things you mentioned to me are fascinating," said K-1.

"Certainly," answered Simon as he and K-1 left the room and closed the door behind them. Aura gazed at Mack and he tried to smile, but instead, he winced in pain.

"If only there was a way to relax," groaned Mack, "Since my body is so resistant to foreign materials, even a liter of morphine won't stop this pain…" Aura smiled, closed her eyes and started to sing to him. Mack started to feel better at the sound of Aura's soft voice.

"What a nice melody…" remarked Mack as he drifted off to sleep. Outside the room, Simon and K-1 were having a discussion about the evening's events.

"I see," said K-1, "Cipher set a trap for them using a tournament as bait. I'm glad you all managed to escape."

"Indeed," said Simon. K-1 paced back and forth with a worried look on his face. The only sound in the hallway now was the metallic clinks as K-1's feet hit the floor.

"There are a few things I don't quite understand," remarked K-1, "Somehow, Aura not only managed to make hasty repairs and operate the S-1, but she also hacked a computer and found the needed password after deciphering the operating system code?"

"That's correct. Though doubtful at first, Aura really looked like she knew what she was doing," said Simon.

"Aura has picked up more of Mack's attributes than expected," said K-1 with concern, "It makes me wonder if anything has also happened to Mack. Considering how Aura picked up Mack's power over light and his knowledge about computers and Mack's technologies, there is no way Mack could have come out of that crude separation without a scratch." Meanwhile, Aura continued to sing to Mack. Even with her eyes closed, she could still notice a glowing light that was now coming from somewhere in the room. She finished her song and opened her eyes. Outside, K-1 and Simon jumped in shock as Aura screamed.

"Sounds like trouble!" yelled K-1 as he and Simon busted down the door. As Simon leapt through the door frame with his scythes drawn forward, K-1 jumped forward as his small, plasma Vulcan cannons unfolded from his sides.

"What's wrong?" asked Simon as he and K-1 faced Aura. She had her back against the wall and was staring at Mack with a look of shock on her face. K-1 and Simon slowly faced Mack.

"Sometimes I hate it when I'm right…" whimpered K-1. Simon walked forward and then shook Mack awake.

"What's going on?" yawned Mack as he noticed that his pain was gone, "How strange. I feel a lot better now." Mack soon discovered that everyone was staring at him strangely.

"What's wrong?" asked Mack, "You all look like you've seen a ghost." Aura slowly stepped forward.

"There…there's something you need to know, Mack," said Aura.

"Oh? What is it? Just tell me," said Mack happily. Aura held out a small mirror. Mack shrieked and jumped out of bed.

"You see?" said Aura with sadness. Mack glanced down at his green hands, at the red fin sticking out of his chest and at the familiar white gown of a Gardevoir.

"Not again…" grumbled Mack.

"I should have mentioned earlier," said K-1 with fear, "I completed the DNA scan and found a few anomalies near the end of the scan, but those should not have translated into a complete change of your body!"

"We better get back to the lab!" said Mack. Aura grabbed Mack's hand.

"Let's go," said Aura. With that, they all ran down the hallways of the hospital. Soon, they were out the door and onboard the S-1. K-1 jumped into the pilot seat, extended a few arms from his chest compartment and was soon flying the massive S-5 back to the Gardev Mountains. Mack sat in the cargo area of the S-1 with his back against a crate. Aura put an arm around Mack, trying to comfort him while William sat on Mack's lap and tried to cheer him up. Mack seemed to feel relieved as he stroked the friendly Pikachu. Minutes later, Anna walked into the cockpit and jumped into the co-pilot's chair.

"How are things going?" asked Anna cheerfully.

"Not quite as planned," said K-1 as he piloted the giant craft, "Now go away and don't touch anything! Flying this hulk by yourself is not as easy as it looks."

"Okay!" answered Anna with happiness as she started to leave the cockpit. K-1 turned his head backwards and faced Anna.

"Interesting…" remarked K-1 as Anna stopped in her tracks and faced K-1, "You sure are upbeat and happy. What's up? Are things going well for you?"

"You could say that," said Anna, "It's mainly about that new Gardevoir. I'm happy that Aura finally found a boyfriend." K-1 went slacked-jawed.

"What's wrong?" asked Anna, "Did I say something bad?"

"I don't know…" said K-1 uneasily, "Perhaps you should go play with Fredrick and the others, okay?"

"Okay!" said Anna as she left the room.

"This could get very complicated…" thought K-1 as the S-5 streaked across the night sky. Meanwhile, back at the hospital, a nurse was surveying the room, trying to find clues about Mack's disappearance. Moments later, a man in a pin-striped suit entered the room.

"Oh! Mr. Allens!" said the nurse, "What brings you here?"

"I heard about Dr. Foxx and I came to see him. Is he around?" asked John.

"I'm afraid not. He disappeared just a matter of minutes ago," replied the nurse.

"Okay. Thank you," said John as he left the room.

"I wonder where he went?" asked the nurse to herself.

"Great…" thought John as he walked down the hallways, "Dr. Foxx escaped. Dr. Namwen will not be pleased…"


	6. Section 6

**-16-**

Back at the lab, Mack gazed at himself through a mirror, absolutely shocked at what was happening.

"This is impossible!" said Mack.

"No, just very, very unlikely," said K-1.

"Is Central operational yet?" asked Mack.

"I'm now fully functional again. Thank you for your patience, Mack," answered Central in an optimistic tone.

"I suspect that the best way to unravel this mystery would be to conduct another DNA scan, but this time, with Central's help, it should only take a few minutes," said K-1.

"Let's do it, then," said Mack. K-1 walked forward with a small metal device and pressed it against one of Mack's fingers. There was a soft hiss as a small sample of blood was drawn. K-1 then walked over to Central's main control panel and inserted the machine into a large slot on the console.

"Central, please analyze this DNA sample," said K-1.

"Acknowledged. Please stand by…" said Central as the loud humming of fans filled the room. Aura jumped at the sound.

"Central's running at 300, so the fans in the processing array are running at full speed. Otherwise, the processors would melt from the excessive heat," explained Mack. Aura breathed a sigh of relief. Anna, Fredrick, Li and Sakura were also in the lab, under Xavier's watchful eye.

"This is just cracked…" muttered Li, "Mack got turned into a Gardevoir of all things. That just doesn't seem possible."

"Neither did the bonding of my sister and Mack seem possible," said Fredrick. Anna was just sitting down, smiling for some unknown reason.

"What's up, Anna?" asked Fredrick.

"I just want to ask Mack a question," said Anna with delight.

"Well, go for it," said Sakura. Anna got up from the floor, walked over to Mack and then tugged gently on his skirt. Mack looked down at the young Kirlia.

"Is there something you need?" asked Mack.

"Are you going to marry Aura?" asked Anna. Aura blushed deeply while Mack flopped onto the floor.

"Maybe we should have asked what Anna wanted to know before we let her go over there…" muttered Fredrick.

"Agreed…" said Sakura bashfully.

"I don't think so…" grumbled Mack.

"Why not?" asked Anna, "You're a Gardevoir and she's a Gardevoir. Besides, I can tell that you two like each other a lot."

"As friends," said Mack as he got back to his feet, "Besides, I'm not really a Gardevoir anyway."

"Scan complete," said Central.

"Excellent!" said K-1 as he walked over to Central's main view screen, "Let's see what we have here…" Everyone stood silently while K-1 quickly read through the data.

"So, is Mack a Gardevoir now?" asked Anna eagerly.

"Why do you want to know?" asked Li impatiently.

"Because," said Anna with a smile, "If he marries Aura, then I'll have another big brother!"

"Most unusual," remarked K-1, "The number of anomalies has increased ten-fold!"

"What do you make of it?" asked Mack.

"I'm not too sure, but here's what I do know," said K-1 as he faced Mack, "Your genetic code has been heavily altered and your DNA is random. Some of it matches that of a Gardevoir while the rest of it is your standard DNA."

"How can a being have two types of DNA at once?" asked a bewildered Mack.

"Your guess is as good as mine, but I think this means that you should be able to transform back to your old self if you focused enough," said K-1.

"It's worth a try," said Mack as he closed his eyes and concentrated. Soon, Mack was enveloped in an aura of blinding light. The light soon vanished, revealing Mack as his fox-like self again.

"Excellent!" said Mack just before pain shot throughout his body, "Arrrrg!!" Mack flopped back onto the floor and Aura carefully picked him up.

"Gadzooks…" grumbled K-1, "Despite the transformation into a Gardevoir, Mack still retained all his injuries. Follow me, Aura." K-1 walked towards a strange machine with Aura right behind him. K-1 pressed a few buttons and the glass panel of the front opened with a soft hiss.

"Is this the Cell Regenerator?" asked Aura.

"Yes. Please put Mack in it, gently," said K-1 as Aura carefully put Mack into the machine. K-1 then pressed as few more buttons as soon as Aura's hands were clear of the machine and the glass door closed. Minutes later, a soft white light enveloped Mack as he slept in the machine.

"He'll be alright, won't he?" asked Aura with concern as she gazed at Mack.

"Hard to say," said K-1 grimly, "His wounds will heal, but from what I can gather, it will be harder for Mack to maintain his usual form. It's only a matter of time before he will be stuck as a Gardevoir."

"Should you also check me for problems?" asked Aura uneasily.

"If you insist," said K-1 as he grabbed another small, metal device, "This won't hurt a bit." K-1 walked over to Aura, drew more blood with device and then inserted it into Central's control panel.

"Please stand by…" said Central as she analyzed Aura's DNA, "Analysis complete. Gardevoir DNA type recognized. No flaws or abnormalities detected."

"What a relief…" said Aura with a smile, "But how come I have some of Mack's powers and knowledge?"

"I think having some of Mack's attributes is not bad. Your new power probably saved you and Mack back in Alakaz," said K-1, "At least you won't be turning into a vixen, or anything."

**-17-**

Cecil laughed at Dr. Namwen.

"And what is so amusing?" demanded Dr. Namwen.

"Oh, I just find it humorous that you're having the same luck that I had when I messed with the Guardian of Gardev!" laughed Cecil.

"Yes, except that my facility didn't get blown to steaming bits!" snarled Dr. Namwen. Cecil suddenly stopped laughing.

"Touché…" grumbled Cecil.

"Don't forget who spared you the boss's wrath," said Dr. Namwen as he typed at a computer in a large, metal room.

"What are you working on now, anyway?" asked Cecil with curiosity.

"Just a few things," answered Dr. Namwen with sarcasm, "Finding out how one living being could be fused with another so they share one body, working the bugs out of Project Epsilon Mark II and trying to find a reason why I shouldn't leave a cherry bomb in your next cup of coffee."

"Ouch…" muttered Cecil. Dr. Namwen grinned at Cecil.

"Tell me, what would you give to have a Guardian of Gardev at your command?" asked Dr. Namwen.

"I'd give up my position as a Cipher Administrator for that!" said Cecil with delight.

"I could get you one of those Guardians," said Dr. Namwen, "My spies have confirmed that at least two Gardevoir are donning those pendants. They seem to have immense power." Cecil and Dr. Namwen watched battle footage from the pseudo-tournament as the pendant on Aura's chest glowed brightly while she fought the other Pokémon.

"What would it take?" asked Cecil.

"Oh, I just need complete access to that alien suit of armor. I could probably get the remaining things I need for Project Epsilon Mark II from that armor's technology," said Dr. Namwen.

"Granted," replied Cecil, "Just make sure you get me one of those guardians."

"It would be my pleasure," said Dr. Namwen as Cecil left the room. As soon as the door closed behind Cecil, Dr. Namwen studied some maps that the spies had made. The only thing pestering Dr. Namwen was that the tracer for Project Epsilon Mark II could not detect any type of energy signature from the mystical pendants. There were two confirmed Gardevoir signatures near Gardev. A third signature also appeared, but the signal seemed to be distorted.

"As soon as Project Epsilon Mark II is ready, I'll nab THAT Gardevoir!" said Dr. Namwen as he pointed at the garbled signature on the screen, "The one that stands out usually leads to the best results."

**-18-**

A few weeks later, Mack finally stepped out of the Cell Regenerator. Though his wounds had finally healed, the prospect of becoming a Gardevoir was still not a welcoming idea.

"Okay, so what's the deal here, K-1?" asked Mack as he started munching on some doughnuts while sitting at Central's main control console.

"If you don't mind me saying so, crumbs are very hard to get out of my keyboard," complained Central.

"Whoops…" said Mack with embarrassment as he grabbed a plate from a nearby cupboard.

"At any rate, I've made some rather interesting discoveries about you while you slept in the Cell Regenerator," reported K-1 as he walked into the room.

"Okay. What's going on with me?" asked Mack eagerly.

"Your DNA is rearranging itself to that of a Gardevoir at a rather fast rate," said K-1, "I think it's only a matter of weeks now before you will be incapable of staying in your fox-like form."

"So that's the bad news," muttered Mack, "How about some good news?"

"Well, for the time being, you can freely transform between your normal self and the body of a Gardevoir," explained K-1, "As a Gardevoir, you are no longer susceptible to energy loss when using your powers. Best of all, you can still use your broad spectrum of abilities as a Gardevoir. As an added bonus, all your powers are amplified significantly."

"I guess that would count as good news," said Mack as he wiped some crumbs off of his mouth.

"Yeah! When you get stuck as a Gardevoir, then you can marry Aura!" said Anna with excitement as she leapt into the room on her toes.

"And who let her in here?" growled Mack.

"Anna, Mack is rather busy right now and your constant questions of marriage are not only getting on his nerves, but you are also starting to run my patience thin!" warned K-1.

"Why don't you go torture Fredrick or something?" grumbled Mack.

"My, you sure are grumpy!" snapped Anna as she stormed out of the room.

"Anna seems quite young to be talking about marriage," muttered K-1.

"Don't underestimate her age, K-1," said Aura as she walked into the room, "She's actually very old for a Kirlia. If she had evolved into a Gardevoir by now, she would be looking for a mate."

"And probably would not be bothering me right now," said an irritated Mack.

"Now that we know what is going on with you, Mack, I would suggest that we plan our next move," suggested Central.

"Indeed," said Mack, "There is certainly more going on in Alakaz than we know of."

"Indeed. Aura mentioned that there was a giant facility beneath the bank in Alakaz. That is where she found Simon in the middle of a giant control room," said K-1.

"Aura, I guess getting fused with you did have its advantages," said Mack with a smile, "Not only did you pick up my powers, but now you also have my vast knowledge about technology at your fingertips. Otherwise, you would not have been able to hack the computer to free Simon and you would not have been able to hotwire the S-1 in an emergency."

"Then there was that wrench in the S-1's systems," laughed K-1, "Aura must also have all the schematics to the S Series craft in her memory as well."

"It's almost frightening considering what I'm capable of now," said Aura with nervous laughter.

"Either way, we're going back to Alakaz," said Mack with resolve as Simon suddenly ran into the room.

"You're going back to Alakaz? Then I insist that you take me with you," said Simon as his scythes shimmered in the light.

"As you wish," said Mack as he faced K-1, "K-1, get the S-5 prepped for launch."

"Certainly!" said K-1 cheerfully, "What weapons should I load into the S-5?"

"They won't be needed," said Mack as he stood up from his chair.

"Ah. I see," said K-1.

"Besides, I can't fire guns properly as a Gardevoir right now anyway," said Mack.

"I suspect that you're going to use our counter-attack on Cipher as a field test of your powers?" asked K-1.

"Correct!" said Mack triumphantly. Meanwhile, Li, Anna, Sakura and Fredrick were listening to the conversation from behind a door.

"You know what this means!" whispered Anna with soft giggling.

"Yep…" said Fredrick with dismay, "Another adventure as stowaways…"

"This will be fun!" reassured Anna.

"I don't think so. I'm going back to Gardev and I'm getting Ramirez over here!" said Fredrick as he started walking towards the elevator. Sakura leapt in front of him.

"Out of my way!" grumbled Fredrick.

"Should I…dance again?" asked Sakura with a devious grin as she faced Anna.

"Look at it this way," said Anna with an evil smile on her face, "You can either come with us or Sakura will…dance and we'll drag you along with us anyway."

"What choice do I have…" muttered Fredrick as he faced Sakura with a smile, "Let's get going! May as well have some fun while we're at it!"

"That's better," said Anna as they quickly entered the docking bay and hid under some panels in the cockpit. Minutes later, Mack, Aura, Xavier, William and Simon jumped into the S-5. As Aura and Mack walked towards the cockpit, they talked about what had happened recently.

"Considering what's been happening," said Mack as he opened the door to the cockpit, "How would you like to help me fly this thing back to Alakaz?"

"Is it easy to fly?" asked Aura with excitement.

"This should be a piece of cake for you. Besides, you already know how," said Mack as he winked at Aura.

"Good point!" laughed Aura. Her laugher soon gave way to concern.

"What is it?" asked Mack as he sat down in the pilot's chair.

"Its Li, Sakura, Anna and Fredrick," said Aura, "Shouldn't we find them and take them back to Gardev? Ramirez must be worried about them."

"I wouldn't bet on it," said Mack, "Ramirez knows that they'll try to come along with us anyway."

"Where do you suppose they are right now?" asked Aura as she looked around the cockpit. Mack picked up a crowbar and eyed one of the small cargo panels in the floor.

"I have my suspicions…" said Mack as he cautiously approached the panel. Meanwhile, the young Pokémon tried to keep quiet.

"You think he knows we're here?" asked Fredrick quietly.

"I hope not," whispered Anna, "From this spot we'll be able to watch and see if they kiss during the flight."

"You're still going on about that?" said a bewildered Li.

"Of course!" giggled Anna. Mack heard the soft giggling coming from the panel in front of him.

"Bingo…" said Mack quietly as he prepared to strike. Aura tried to keep herself from laughing.

"I think we're in trouble…" said Fredrick as he saw Mack wind up for a killer swing with the crowbar. No one paid any attention to him. Mack swung the crowbar as hard as he could and struck the panel. The sound of the metal clang was deafening. The young Pokémon screamed with fright and jumped out of the panel.

"Looks like we have some unexpected guests!" laughed Mack.

"It was her idea!" complained Fredrick as he pointed accusingly at Anna.

"But you came along anyway!" grumbled Anna.

"But why did you have us hide in the cockpit of all places?!" shouted Fredrick, "So we could watch Mack and Aura?!"

"That's enough, you two," said Mack as he dropped the crowbar, "If you wanted to come along, you could have asked us. I'm sure Ramirez would not mind if we kept an eye on you, especially since he has to watch over Gardev until Aura returns."

"I'm sorry…" said Anna with sadness in her voice.

"You're forgiven. Next time, don't try and stow aboard my craft, agreed?" asked Mack to the young Pokémon.

"Agreed!" said the group of Kirlia and one Mawile.

"Then lets be off!" said Mack as he jumped back into the Pilot's chair, "You all set, Aura?"

"Ready, captain!" said Aura jokingly as the S-5 roared to life. Up above, thick metal doors slowly opened, clearing the way for takeoff. As soon as the doors were open, the S-5 flew out of the lab and was on its way back to Alakaz.

"Should we start our search at the bank?" asked Aura.

"Not yet," replied Mack, "I think we should pay our dear friend Mr. Allens a little visit."

**-19-**

Meanwhile, Ramirez was walking down the streets of Gardev. Off in the distance, he heard the roar of a large, distant machine as it flew away.

"Mack and Aura must have found something. I hope they'll be alright," thought Ramirez, "Still, I don't understand why Glacian said that Mack would be here for years to come? What does he know that won't tell anyone? Oh, well. I have a job to do. I'm very glad that things have been quiet around here." Off in the distance, Warren and Jake watched as Ramirez wandered about Gardev.

"He takes his job very seriously," remarked Jake.

"Almost too seriously," said Warren. Glacian was in the room as well, meditating. Half an hour later, Glacian broke the silence in the room.

"I believe its time I told you what is happening," said Glacian as he got back on his feet.

"Very well, old friend. What do you need to tell me?" asked Warren.

"It's about Mack. What I have foreseen has indeed come true," said Glacian as he watched his great-great grandson walk the streets of Gardev.

"Yes. I've been very curious about that ever since the day Mack left with Aura. You said that something was going to happen to Mack and it would either empower him or destroy him," said Warren.

"Indeed. That has come to pass, but it is not quite complete," said Glacian.

"I don't understand," said a bewildered Warren.

"I'll just be blunt," said Glacian, "Dr. Mack Foxx is turning into a Gardevoir."

"Oh, dear…" said Jake with shock.

"How can this be?" demanded Warren.

"It is a result of when Mack and Aura were crudely separated. K-1, Mack's robotic companion has informed me of all the developments. So far, Aura has acquired Mack's various powers. On top of that, she has also been given Mack's vast knowledge about technology," explained Glacian.

"It's like they've traded qualities from one to another," said an awestruck Warren.

"Indeed," said Glacian, "Aura has gained power and knowledge from Mack while Mack has gained the benefits of being a Gardevoir in return."

"Will he be stuck as a Gardevoir?" asked Jake.

"Yes, but for how long, I cannot tell," replied Glacian.

"What do you think he'll do with his newfound power?" asked Warren.

"Mack is a man of honor. He will use his enhanced power for good and I believe he will fight Cipher to the bitter end," said Glacian.

"Incredible…" remarked Warren as he started to pace back and forth in his office.

"For the time being, Mack can transform back and forth between his fox-like and Gardevoir forms, but soon, he will literally be a Gardevoir," said Glacian.

"I have a hard question for you, old friend," said Warren with hesitation, "Once Mack is a Gardevoir, do you think he would…marry Aura?"

"The idea does have some flair to it. Mack would share the duties of being a guardian, but whether or not he would take up the responsibility remains to be seen," said Glacian, "One thing I do know. It has been revealed to me that Mack is going to solve one of the biggest mysteries of Gardev, but which one, I do not know."


	7. Section 7

**-20-**

Less than an hour after they had left the Gardev Mountains, Mack and Aura had arrived in Alakaz, Mack quickly landed the S-5 in front of John's hotel.

"How should we do this?" asked Aura. Mack closed his eyes and in a brilliant flash, he morphed into a Gardevoir.

"We're just going to have a friendly chat, maybe send him flying across the room, scare him within an inch of his life: whatever it takes to get him to talk," said Mack as he cracked his green knuckles.

"Shall we?" asked Aura as she grabbed Mack's right hand.

"Indeed," answered Mack as they left the cockpit and walked back to the cargo area of the S-5. The young Pokémon soon had their attention on Mack and Aura.

"Don't they make a cute couple?" giggled Anna. Aura blushed and Mack scowled.

"Ahem!" coughed Mack as he gazed at the other Pokémon, "This is how this is going to work: Aura and I are going to have a chat with Mr. Allens. While we're interrogating him, I want everyone else to stay here in the S-5. If those Cipher peons come anywhere near the craft, do what you can to get rid of them! Understood?"

"Do we get to use giant lasers on them?" asked Anna sarcastically.

"No…" said Mack, "Just feel free to pound them into the ground. Should they try and attack with Capture Claws, retreat into the S-5 and put up the energy shields. William knows where the right button is."

"Do you really think they'll have to do that?" asked a worried Aura.

"Probably not, but we can't take any chances. Simon? Gonna come with us?" asked Mack.

"But of course," answered Simon. Mack pressed a few buttons on a nearby control panel. Moments later, the giant doors opened and loading ramp of the S-5 slid to the ground. Meanwhile, John was gazing out the front window as the gargantuan flying machine landed just outside the lobby of his hotel. He watched with a sneer on his face as two Gardevoir and one Kabutops marched into the hotel.

"What have we here: two Gardevoir on their honeymoon with a bodyguard? Sorry, but we don't serve Pokémon without trainers at this hotel," said John as one of the Gardevoir thrust its hand forward, knocking him to the ground with a telekinetic blast.

"I'm just going to be frank," said Mack as he stepped forward, "I'm well aware that you're working for Cipher. I want you to tell me what you know about their operations in this city." John didn't recognize the Gardevoir who stood before him, but the voice sounded familiar.

"Dr. Foxx? You're a Pokémon?!" shouted John.

"You could say that," said Mack as he walked towards John.

"Let me guess: you used some sort of power of illusion to make everyone think you were something else, right?" asked John.

"Perhaps…" answered Mack, "Now tell me what I want to know."

"I don't know what you're talking about! I'm not with Cipher! Someone was probably impersonating me!" pleaded John. Mack's eyes glowed white and John was launched into the air by another telekinetic blast. Mack held John in the air.

"Let's try this again, shall we? What do you know about Cipher's activities in this city? Tell me now or I'll put a crater in the floor with your head!" shouted Mack.

"Okay! Okay!" yelled John with fright, "I'm not really John Allens! I'm just a grunt in Cipher."

"Good. Now tell me what you know about the facility under the bank," demanded Mack.

"I don't know anything about that place! All I've heard is that Dr. Namwen does all his experiments in a secret lab somewhere in Alakaz. It was just my job to impersonate John and walk you into Dr. Namwen's trap in the tournament!" explained John as Mack gently set him back on his feet.

"Excellent. Anything else?" asked Mack.

"Well, there is a facility down below, but you'll have to get past me first!" shouted the Cipher agent as he threw a Pokéball onto the lobby floor. The Pokéball opened with a bright flash, revealing a Houndoom. Mack focused his senses and a familiar black aura materialized around the Houndoom.

"Another shadow Pokémon?" asked Aura. Mack nodded his head.

"Houndoom, kill those insufferable Pokémon this instant!" ordered the agent. Mack laughed and fired a beam of light into the Houndoom. The blast knocked the Houndoom off its feet and instantly, the black aura vanished. The agent glared at his Houndoom as it got back on its feet.

"I hope you've got a better strategy up your sleeves," said Mack as he glared at the agent.

"Come on, you stupid Houndoom! Kill them!" ordered the agent. The Houndoom faced its trainer and growled.

"What's this?" thought Mack as he tried to read the Houndoom's thoughts, "It…doesn't belong to him…?"

"What a useless stolen Pokémon!" snapped the agent angrily.

"He's trying to fight with a stolen Pokémon, eh? Oh, dear," though Mack with a grin.

"What have you done with my trainer and where am I?!" demanded the Houndoom. The agent could not understand the Houndoom.

"I'm your master! Now fight!" shouted the agent with rage.

"You're not my master, you fool!" said the Houndoom.

"You should know better than to try and fight with a stolen Pokémon. Now you're in deep trouble!" warned Mack.

"Indeed!" said the Houndoom as it leapt forward and tried to sink its teeth into one of the agent's legs.

"Yikes!" shouted the agent as he jumped onto the front desk and then leapt into one of the crystal chandeliers. The growling Houndoom paced under the frightened agent.

"Thanks," said Mack.

"Thank you very much," said Aura with a smile.

"My pleasure," answered the Houndoom politely.

"Do you know how you got here?" asked Mack.

"What's your name?" asked Aura.

"I'm Cedric. My trainer is from the village of Gardev. I was kidnapped a few years ago. I don't remember much, though. The last thing I remember is being in a glass tube with dark energy flowing around me," explained Cedric, "I've been under the…care of this nimrod for a long time. Maybe now I can get back to my home!"

"Do you know this building well? We're trying to find a secret Cipher facility in Alakaz," said Mack.

"A secret facility?" asked Cedric with surprise, "You must be kidding yourself, sir. There are several facilities here in Alakaz. Most of them are below ground. In fact, there's one right below this hotel."

"Thanks, Cedric. When Aura, Simon and I get finished with whatever is in the basement, we can take you back to Gardev," said Mack as he, Simon and Aura started running to the basement doors.

"Wait!" said Cedric as he kept a watchful eye on the agent, "You must be the Guardian of Gardev. When did you evolve, Aura?"

"Two years ago, why?" asked Aura.

"I thought I recognized your voice and pleasant manor. I'll let you know something," said Cedric as he growled at the agent again, "I'm not sure what they keep below this hotel, but it's under such tight security that no one is allowed in there except for Dr. Namwen."

"Thank you, Cedric!" said Aura with a smile before she grabbed Mack's right hand and followed him down into the basement. Simon decided to stay with Cedric and gazed at the powerful Houndoom.

"What?" asked Cedric.

"I was just wondering if you would like to fight me. It's been ages since I've had a good battle and you seem to be quite strong," said Simon as Cedric leapt into the air and tried to bite one of the agent's boots.

"Get away from me, you mongrel!" screamed the agent. Meanwhile, Mack and Aura descended into the basement floors of the hotel. For some reason, none of the doors were locked and the security system had been completely disabled.

"Do you think it's a trap?" asked Aura quietly as they walked through the metallic corridors.

"I'm not sure," replied Mack as he glanced back and forth. Only Aura's and his soft footsteps made any sound in the silent facility. Mack couldn't sense any life nearby. As they went deeper, Mack started to sense something.

"Aura? Do you feel that?" asked Mack.

"What do you feel? I'm too scared to concentrate," said Aura fearfully.

"You don't have to be afraid, Aura, I'm here with you," said Mack as Aura smiled, "I sense…pain. It's coming from somewhere in this facility." As they continued walking, the sense of pain got stronger and stronger. Mack could also sense sadness and great fear coming from two beings.

"Mack, I'm scared…" said Aura. The facility seemed to get darker as they went deeper into it.

"Me too…" said Mack quietly, "I don't like what I'm sensing." Mack stopped abruptly at a thick, metal door in the hallway. The feelings of pain, sadness and fear were the strongest where he was standing.

"This place seems to go on for miles," said Aura when she noticed Mack as he stared at the nearby door, "What is it?" Mack responded by focusing his power. His eyes glowed white as the door bent in half and was then quickly thrown behind him and Aura. The metallic clang echoed throughout the facility.

"Stay here, Aura," said Mack as he slowly walked into the dark room. Mack could hear labored breathing and groaning from inside the room. He gazed to his left and stopped in his tracks.

"Did you find something?" asked Aura as she started to walk into the room.

"Aura! Stay back! You don't want to see this!" shouted Mack, but he was too late. As he tried to warn her, Aura quickly flipped on a light switch. Aura's hands fell limply at her sides as her eyes opened wide. She recoiled into a corner of the room and screamed. Mack gazed at the Pokémon in front of him: two Gardevoir, strapped to gurneys.

"They're barely alive…" said Mack with a shudder. One of them opened its eyes and stared at Mack and then at Aura.

"Aura…is that you…?" asked the Gardevoir weakly in a feminine voice.

"Mother…?" asked Aura weakly. Mack glanced at the two Gardevoir.

"So…this is where they've been all this time. Considering their pain, Dr. Namwen must have been experimenting on them for the last few years," thought Mack, "The more I learn about that psycho, the more I want to annihilate him!" Mack clenched his fists while Aura cautiously walked up and put her arms around her mother.

"…Aura…Aura…" said Aura's mother as she started to pass out. As Aura's mother fell back to sleep, Aura ran over and wrapped her arms around Mack.

"This changes my plans considerably…" thought Mack as Aura sobbed loudly, "Aura?"

"Yes?" answered Aura as she dried her eyes.

"We've got to get them out of here," said Mack as he grabbed the handle bars on one of the gurneys, "I'll take your father to the surface while you follow closely and bring you mother with you."

"Will they be alright?" asked Aura with concern as she grabbed the handle bars on the gurney.

"They aren't in any danger of dying, but we still had better get them back to Gardev! Glacian and Warren should be able to help them," said Mack as he and Aura wheeled the injured Gardevoirs down the hallway. The sound of the squeaky wheels echoed down the massive corridors.

"I thought I would never see them again," said a relieved Aura.

"What are their names?" asked Mack with curiosity as Aura's father gazed at Mack's face and smiled.

"My mother is named Aurora and my father's name is Alexander," replied Aura.

"Alexander the Great, eh?" asked Mack with a grin, trying to help Aura feel better.

"You could say that…" groaned Alexander, "Who are you and where are you taking me?" Alexander must have only just woken up.

"My name is Dr. Mack Foxx," answered Mack quietly, "And I'm taking you back to Gardev."

"A strange name for a Gardevoir…" said Alexander as he winced from the pain in his battered body, "Where is my daughter?"

"I'm back here with Aurora!" answered Aura.

"You both make an excellent team," remarked Alexander, "Have you two been mates for long?" Mack frowned while Aura blushed with nervous laughter.

"No…" answered Mack with embarrassment.

"Really?" said Alexander, "That's good…this means I won't have to miss my daughter's wedding after all."

"Just rest for now," said Mack, "We'll be back in Gardev before you know it."

"…Can't remember the last time I've seen the mountains…" said Alexander quietly as he drifted off to sleep. As Mack and Aura wheeled Aurora and Alexander down the corridor, Mack could still not understand why the security system in the facility was not working and why there were no guards. Seconds later, a door down the hallway creaked open. Mack came to an abrupt stop, leapt forward and prepared to blast whatever was behind the door to smithereens.

"Easy, Mack!" shouted William as he dropped to the ground.

"William?!" exclaimed Mack, "Did you disable the alarms and locks down here by yourself?"

"I had some help," replied William as he stood back up. Behind him, Mack saw three familiar Kirlia, a Kabutops and one Mawile.

"Hello, Mack!" said Anna as she and Sakura gracefully bowed.

"How'd you all get down here?" asked a surprised Mack.

"I tried to stop them, but after you and Aura walked into the hotel, I found Anna, trying to remove a manhole from the middle of the road," explained William.

"I heard some strange machinery from under the road. Sure enough, I opened the manhole, dove in and I was then crawling around in a ventilation shaft," said Anna.

"The rest of us dove in after her," said William, "Who would have ever thought that the air shaft led straight to one of the main control rooms?"

"Okay, but how did you shut down the alarms?" asked Mack.

"I just used my head," replied Li.

"And my claws," said Simon.

"They smashed, sliced and diced the consoles to bits," giggled Sakura.

"Then, yours truly, overloaded the electrical system," said William with a devious smile on his face, "The agents have been running around above ground on the other side of the city, trying to restore power." William finally noticed the gurneys that Mack and Aura had been pushing.

"William, please take the kids back to the S-5," said Mack, "We'll be there shortly and make sure that Houndoom in the lobby, Cedric, comes with us."

"A Houndoom in the lobby?" asked William, "Got it! Let's go kids!" The Kirlia and Mawile followed after William.

"A Houndoom named Cedric?" asked Sakura.

"Nah. It couldn't be!" answered Li. As William and the young Pokémon disappeared down the hallway, Mack and Aura started to push the injured Gardevoirs down the hallway.

"Thanks, Mack;" said Aura, "I didn't want my siblings to see their parents like this."

"Your welcome, Aura," said Mack as they quickly carted Aura's parents down the hallways. Before long, they were back, safe and sound on the S-5.

"Cedric?" asked Mack, "What happened to that agent?"

"I let him escape, for now," replied Cedric, "He probably went to get help, so we'd best take off and get out of here." Cedric followed while Mack and Aura wheeled the Gardevoirs into the medical room. Mack could sense Aura's anxiety.

"Would you like to stay here with them?" asked Mack. Aura tearfully nodded her head.

"Okay," answered Mack quietly, "Just let them rest. They're going to fine now." Mack closed the door and ran for the cockpit. Meanwhile, the young Pokémon were gathering around Cedric.

"Is there something you need?" asked Cedric as he stared at the young Pokémon.

"Don't you remember me?" asked Sakura, "I'm Sakura!" The Houndoom stared at Sakura then smiled.

"Last I saw you, you were still a Ralts," said Cedric with a chuckle as he glanced at Fredrick and Anna, "I recognize you, Anna, but who's your Kirlia friend?"

"I'm Fredrick," said Fredrick with a scowl, "I evolved less than a month ago."

"About time!" laughed Cedric. Anna glanced around the large cargo room. The only other thing in there besides the young Pokémon and the Houndoom was Xavier.

"Want to play tag?" asked Anna eagerly.

"Why not? I haven't had any fun for years!" said Cedric, "I'm it!" The young Pokémon laughed and scattered as Cedric tried to chase them down.

"Can't a Lugia get some rest around here?" muttered Xavier as he buried his head under his wings. Meanwhile, Mack was feverishly powering up the S-5. William jumped into the co-pilot's chair and helped Mack get the S-5 prepped for launch.

"It's a good thing you taught me how to do this!" laughed William as he pressed some buttons on the control console in front of him.

"It's almost too bad you can't get a driver's license!" said Mack with a grin as the S-5 lifted off the ground, "Gardev, here we come!" Dr. Namwen watched closely from a nearby building as the massive craft flew out of the city with a loud roar.

"A Gardevoir that can pilot such a piece of machinery? How fascinating," thought Dr. Namwen, "Yes, head back to your home and have fun while you can."


	8. Section 8

**-21-**

Normally, Mack would never have landed the gigantic S-5 in the middle of a small town, but Mack knew that Glacian and Warren would need to see to Aura's parents as soon as possible. The loud noise from the engines disrupted Glacian's meditation in Warren's office.

"Now what's going on…?" muttered Glacian. Moments later, he saw Warren and Jake run down the hallway and out the front door. Warren watched and marveled at the size of the strange, metal flying machine.

"What is that?" asked Makoto as she ran outside with her daughter.

"It's bigger than our house!" said Makoto's daughter, Sakura.

"Where do you suppose this hulk came from?" asked Jake as the engines quieted down.

"I have my suspicions…" said Warren as he gazed at what appeared to be doors on the back on the machine. Moments later, the doors opened and a ramp slid out onto the ground.

"Cool! Aliens!" said an excited Sakura. Warren almost dropped to the ground with shock when he saw Mack and Aura step out of the craft with two Gardevoir strapped to gurneys.

"Can it be?" asked a stunned Warren as he gazed at the Gardevoirs.

"Alexander and Aurora need help!" shouted Mack. Warren could not believe what he was seeing and hearing.

"I thought they were dead!" yelled Warren as he ran alongside the injured Gardevoir, "Aurora? Alexander? Can you hear me?"

"They need to rest," said Mack.

"Take them to the top floor of my house. You know where to go," said Warren as Mack and Aura removed the straps and carefully carried Aurora and Alexander into Warren's house. As they slowly walked down the hallways, Glacian turned his head and stared at them with shock.

"Impossible!" shouted Glacian as he followed Mack and Aura to a bedroom on the top floor of Warren's house. Once there, Mack and Aura gently laid Aurora and Alexander side by side on a large bed. Glacian gazed at the two former guardians. Aura held Mack tightly and cried tears of joy.

"It's a miracle…" stammered Glacian, "All this time and they've been so close."

"I didn't think I would find them alive, either," said Mack as he gently held Aura.

"I knew you were going to solve one of the mysteries of Gardev, but this takes the cake!" said Glacian with laughter, "I don't know how to thank you! I've always hoped that somehow, my grandson and grand-daughter in-law would return safely."

"I'm so happy…" said Aura as she cried. Glacian faced Aura.

"The pendants," said Glacian, "Please give them to me for a moment." Aura and Mack let go of each other. Then, Aura removed the shining ruby pendant from around her neck and handed it over to Glacian with the deep-blue sapphire pendant. Glacian took the pendants in his hands and closed his eyes. He opened his hands and the pendants floated into the air. Seconds later, they vanished with a bright white flash. When the bright light faded, the pendants were on the necks of Alexander and Aurora. Immediately, their strength returned and they sat up in bed.

"Welcome back, my friends," said Glacian with a smile. Alexander and Aurora faced each other and embraced. Aura smiled and put an arm around Mack.

"I see their love for each other hasn't died off," said Mack happily. Glacian smiled at Mack.

"When a Gardevoir chooses a mate, it's for life, Dr. Foxx," said Glacian.

"What will happen now?" asked Aura.

"The mantel of guardianship has already been passed," explained Glacian, "And Alexander and Aurora are too weak to be guardians again, anyway. The pendants have healed their wounds, but only time will tell if their strength returns to them." Alexander and Aurora let go of each other, carefully removed the pendants, stood up and then returned them to Aura.

"I really think you should give this pendant to your friend here," whispered Alexander to Aura. Aura blushed, put the ruby pendant back around her neck and held the sapphire pendant in her left hand. Mack seemed to be very uneasy.

"May I call you Mack?" asked Alexander.

"Of course," replied Mack.

"I haven't known you very long, but I can tell that you are honorable and that you really care for my daughter," explained Alexander, "If you so desire, you have my permission and my blessing if you marry Aura."

"I'm not really a Gardevoir," said Mack with hesitation, "I'm only like this due to a series of freak accidents."

"But despite that, you've cared for Aura, rescued my wife and I and have done your best to protect Gardev, even though it almost cost you your life," said Alexander as he put a hand on Mack's left shoulder, "Just give it some thought. I know you and Aura would watch over Gardev."

"How do you know about what happened here over the last few months?" asked Mack.

"We simply read your mind," said Aurora with some laughter.

"Ah," said Glacian, "A moment of rejoicing amidst sorrow."

"What do you mean?" demanded Alexander.

"Ramirez has gone missing," said Glacian with a frown, "It's not like him to abandon his position. He took his duties as the relief guardian very seriously."

"Cipher…" growled Mack.

"That is possible, but it's still too soon to tell," warned Glacian.

"Either way, it's high time we kicked Cipher out of Alakaz!" growled Mack with resolve, "I'm going to storm into Alakaz and destroy every last of their underground facilities!"

"Let me come with you!" said Aura as she was about to embrace Mack, but suddenly, Mack vanished in a flash of light.

"No! Mack?! Where are you?!" wailed Aura.

"What on earth just happened?" demanded Alexander.

"It must be Cipher," grumbled Glacian, "Xavier and Mewtwo spoke of a machine that could teleport Pokémon from anywhere in the world to a prison capsule in one of their facilities."

"I'm going after him!" growled Aura with rage as she started to leave the room.

"You can't go yet," warned Glacian as he grabbed Aura's right arm, "I can't have you go there alone. I will not allow you perish at their hands." Aura screamed with anger.

"You don't come between a Gardevoir and its mate," whispered Alexander to Aurora. Aurora held Alexander's hand and nodded her head in agreement. Xavier had overheard the commotion and popped his head through the open window in the room.

"Aura, please calm down," said Xavier, "If you want, William and I can help you get Mack back. Maybe we'll even find Ramirez."

"You'll need a plan," said Glacian, "If you go in there with your fists flying, you'll just get captured again."

"Glacian's right," said Alexander, "We need to think this through."

"We can keep an eye on Anna and Fredrick," said Aurora.

"Sakura will probably be happy to see her Pokémon again," said Alexander. Aura closed her eyes and tried to calm down. Alexander put his hand on Aura's right shoulder.

"Thank you," said Aura calmly as she faced Xavier, "Can you get me into Mack's lab?"

"Mack's computer, Central, trusts you, so getting in will be easy," answered Xavier. Aura jumped out the window and landed on Xavier's back.

"Take me there," ordered Aura. Xavier flapped his mighty wings and soon was on his way into the forest. As Aura and Xavier vanished, Aurora buried her head into Alexander's left shoulder.

"Those black-hearted fiends…" sobbed Aurora, "They took Ramirez and Mack from us!" Alexander stroked Aurora's back, trying to console her.

"Its not all bad," said Glacian with optimism, "Most likely, Mack and Ramirez are in the same facility. You can bet that Aura will stop at nothing to get them back." Meanwhile, outside in the streets of Gardev, Jake was walking down Main Street, unaware of what had just happened in Warren's house. Jake soon spotted a Houndoom. The Houndoom seemed to be playing with three Kirlia and a Mawile.

"It can't be…" thought Jake as he approached the Houndoom, "It's just not possible!" The Houndoom's attention soon turned to that of Jake.

"Houndoooooooom!" howled the Houndoom happily as it ran up to Jake.

"Cedric?!" shouted Jake with disbelief. The Houndoom nodded. Jake reached out his right hand and stroked Cedric.

"It's been a long time, old friend," said Jake with a smile. Cedric whimpered. For some reason, Jake could sense that something was terribly wrong. As he gazed at the giant S-5 in the town square he realized that Mack's fight against Cipher was far from over.

**-22-**

Elsewhere, Mack awoke to the sound of some dry, raspy, maniacal laughter.

"There you have it!" laughed Dr. Namwen as he pointed at the Gardevoir, imprisoned in a clear capsule.

"Incredible," marveled Cecil, "All that and you did it without a field team, either. You really know what you're doing."

"I would not be surprised if my dear brother made his version of Project Epsilon weaker so it would hamper Cipher's conquest," said Dr. Namwen. Mack gazed at Cecil and Dr. Namwen. He kept silent as to not arouse any suspicions.

"Still," remarked Cecil, "I never thought I would grow to love these magnificent creatures. Even after the hateful guardian leveled all the facilities under my command!"

"This male Gardevoir is quite the beauty, isn't it?" said Dr. Namwen with excitement, "I saw this one fly a giant machine out of Alakaz."

"How could a Gardevoir pilot such a device and where would it have come from?" demanded Cecil.

"Gardevoir tend to be secretive. It would not surprise me if they had advanced technology at their disposal," said Dr. Namwen.

"You think there is more to their hidden city than we think?" asked Cecil.

"It is possible," replied Dr. Namwen, "Either way, an army of shadow Ralts, Kirlia and Gardevoir would be unstoppable."

"One more question for you doctor," said Cecil as he gazed at the capture Gardevoir, "When will I have my guardian?"

"Very soon," cackled Dr. Namwen, "The current guardian seems to have chosen this one as her mate; therefore, she will stop at nothing to retrieve him. The bonds of Gardevoir love are quite strong. You would not believe how much trouble I had with the guardian's parents. They put up quite the fight to try and escape. I could tell by their thoughts that they only wished to get back to their family."

"I hear that you experimented on them," said Cecil with a shudder.

"You've gotten squeamish, haven't you, my friend," said Dr. Namwen with cruel laughter, "Thanks to their years of suffering, I can now create a shadow Gardevoir that won't be killed by the dark power." Dr. Namwen noticed that Cecil's mind was elsewhere.

"You're thinking about the pendant on the guardian's neck, aren't you?" asked Dr. Namwen with an evil grin on his face.

"I was just wondering if the dark power we use to create shadow Pokémon could also be used to…corrupt the pendant," said Cecil.

"We can always find out!" laughed Dr. Namwen as he stared at Mack. Mack glared back at the insane scientist.

"I'll see you later. I'm needed back at base," said Cecil as he started to leave the room. The loud slam of the door as it closed broke the near silence in the room. Dr. Namwen faced the imprisoned Gardevoir as it paced in the capsule.

"Don't worry my feminine friend," chuckled Dr. Namwen as he watched the Gardevoir's skirt move as it paced, "You're too important to me as you are; therefore, I won't be turning you into a shadow Pokémon any time soon. I think it's funny: you steal my specimens and now you're mine. You are certainly more promising than the guardian's feeble parents ever were." Dr. Namwen could sense the hatred in the Gardevoir's mind.

"I wouldn't worry," laughed Dr. Namwen, "Your mate will soon come for you. Just imagine the possibilities! You and the guardian will live happily ever after in my care. What if you and the guardian have offspring, hmmm? A shadow Pokémon doesn't feel love, so I could just leave the two of you alone in a nice cell. You'll have lots of healthy, powerful Ralts. Your children will have a great future as Cipher's capable soldiers!" Dr. Namwen walked out of the room, erupting with evil laughter as Mack set his back against the capsule walls. A future with Aura did have great appeal, even though Mack would not admit it out loud. He was still hesitant to be Aura's mate since he was not born as one of her species. As the room quieted down, the soft humming of the machinery could be heard. Suddenly, Mack could sense terrible pain coming from a nearby room. Mack shuddered as he heard someone screaming from fear and excruciating agony. It reminded him of the time he was in Warren's office as Aura's telepathic screaming rang throughout his mind.

"Aura…" thought Mack, "Please hurry…"

**-23-**

Central clicked to life as Aura and Xavier entered the lab via the elevator. Central gazed at Aura through one of her cameras and could tell that something was dreadfully wrong.

"Something happened to Mack," said Central with a mournful tone of voice.

"We're going to get him and Ramirez back!" growled Aura.

"How can I help?" asked Central eagerly, "I haven't helped anyone plan a small war for a long time."

"I'll be in the launch bay if you need me," said Xavier as he left the room. Aura looked into a nearby camera.

"Where are those rifles that Mack always uses?" asked Aura.

"The FIW-37 Combo-Rifle? They're in the weapons case," replied Central as a thick, glass door opened behind Aura. Aura ran over and grabbed one of the glistening guns.

"Take me to the target range," said Aura forcefully.

"Compliance," answered Central, "But do you know who to use a firearm? Those weapons can be extremely dangerous."

"Perfect," growled Aura as a metal door to her left opened up. Aura walked into the room and stared at the targets.

"Would you like moving targets?" asked Central.

"Yes, please," replied Aura, "Maximum difficulty."

"At once," said Central. Immediately, the 30 targets started darting left, right, up and down at blinding speed. Aura loaded a power cell into the rifle and it clicked to life.

"Auto-fire," ordered Aura. The gun clicked loudly. Aura held the rifle, pulled the trigger and unleashed a flurry of plasma bolts down the range. The targets exploded violently. Seconds later, Aura let go of the trigger. The smell of smoldering wood and burning paint was strong.

"3.76 seconds," reported Central, "You matched Mack's record. Very impressive! Of course, having Mack's skills never hurts, does it?"

"Indeed!" said Aura with a grin, "I'll take one of these FIW-37s and one FIW-59A Elemental Pistol."

"You're going to need more than that," said Dr. Eric Newman as he walked into the room with his small army of Alakazams.

"Have you been hiding in the lab for the last month?" asked Aura with surprise.

"My friends told me of what was to come: Mack's transformation and how you would have to rescue him from Cipher," explained Eric, "And now, I can show you my latest masterpiece."

"Please follow us," said Galileo, an Alakazam with a red necktie. Aura followed them closely back to Central's main control room. As soon as she was in the middle of the room, an Alakazam clipped a strange, black belt with a small box on it around Aura's waist.

"What is this thing?" asked Aura with confusion.

"We designed it with the help of K-1," explained Eric, "It's a small, personal shield generator. It was the only thing I could think of that would offer you protection from my brother's dreadful rifles without restricting your movement." Though she was bonded with Mack at the time, Aura vividly remembered what Dr. Namwen's rifles were capable of. They could blast through the psychic barriers that some Pokémon used for defense. The bullets had blown a deep, large hole through several feet of concrete when one of these rifles had been knocked loose from Cecil's hands.

"Where is K-1, anyway?" asked Aura as she strapped the FIW-37 to her back.

"K-1 went back for the S-5. He will be joining you on your rescue mission," answered Eric.

"As will I," said Simon as he ran into the room, "I have a score to settle with Dr. Alvin Newman." Aura soon noticed that the belt had a thigh-grip holster. She quickly slid the FIW-59A into the holster.

"That shield generator also doubles as a utility belt," said Eric as Aura clipped extra power cells to it.

"If you don't mind," said Central, "I would like to help you out as well."

"You've already helped me quite a bit," said Aura.

"You don't know what I mean," interrupted Central. Suddenly, a hidden door to the left of Central's main control panel popped open. Aura watched with amazement as a suit of armor walked out of the doorway on its own.

"Ah, Central is on the move, I see," said K-1 as he walked through the doorway.

"Central is that suit of armor?" said a bewildered Aura.

"Negative," explained K-1 as he strutted into the room, "That is an S-100 Type F battle armor. This one has been designed as an escape pod for Central. In an emergency, she can ditch her scientific processing array and essentially 'Equip' this armor. Though not nearly as powerful as the S-100 Type I that was lost to Cipher, the Type F sports many of the same weapons and defense systems. This model also sports a complete backup of all the information that Mack and I have collected on our travels so far."

"Mack is my creator. I will not allow him to come to harm," said Central sternly.

"Everyone else is onboard the S-5 and waiting for us," said K-1.

"Everyone?" asked Aura.

"William and Xavier will be coming with us as well," said K-1. Soon, everyone had boarded the S-5. Aura and K-1 walked into the cockpit.

"Are you going to fly us there?" asked Aura.

"Actually, I was going to let you take a turn at the wheel," said K-1 as he sat in the co-pilot's chair, "I want to see what you're capable of."

"Okay," said Aura confidently as she climbed into the pilot's chair. K-1 marveled as Aura quickly started up the S-5. Before long, they were airborne and on their way back to Alakaz. Aura had only one thing on her mind: rescue Mack and her beloved brother, Ramirez.


	9. Section 9

**-24-**

Back in the quiet, dimly-lit laboratory of Dr. Namwen, Mack sat still in the capsule, waiting. Dr. Namwen soon walked back into the room with his Alakazam posse.

"Hello again, my pet," said Dr. Namwen, "Having a good evening?" Mack glared at Dr. Namwen.

"Feel free to chat with me," said Dr. Namwen, "I know you can. I saw what happened in the hotel lobby."

"What do you want?" asked Mack contemptuously.

"I just want to know where your little city is," answered a cheerful Dr. Namwen, "I want to pay it a little visit."

"You just want to capture all the Pokémon and force them to be in Cipher's army. Just like that samurai army Aura's ancestors drove off," answered Mack with a scowl on his face.

"But, if you give me what I want, then you and your dear mate can live in peace back in Gardev without any interference from Cipher," said Dr. Namwen.

"Aura is not my mate," grumbled Mack, "And I will not betray my friend, Glacian."

"So, is Glacian the Gardevoir who watches over the city? I want him to know that I intend to protect the city. That fool, Cecil, has no idea what I'm really planning. Once my biggest discovery is complete, I won't need the power of the Pokémon in the Gardevoir city," said Dr. Namwen, "I promise." Mack glanced carefully at Dr. Namwen. Something about him just did not ring true. Mack focused his power and concentrated.

"What are you doing?" demanded Dr. Namwen, "Your powers are useless outside of that capsule." Mack continued to focus.

"Are you trying to discover something?" asked Dr. Namwen calmly. Mack's eyes suddenly opened wipe and he jumped to the back of the capsule.

"I see you know the truth about me," said Dr. Namwen with cruel laughter. Mack stared at Dr. Namwen with disbelief. Around Dr. Namwen was a familiar, dark aura, only this time, it was blacker than anything he had ever seen.

"How did that happen?" asked a disturbed Mack.

"That's my little secret," chuckled Dr. Namwen, "I haven't felt this good in years."

"He must have been exposed to the raw darkness of a shadow chamber," thought Mack, "Though he's not emotionless."

"The dark power has made me stronger," said Dr. Namwen, "My telepathy and senses have never been sharper."

"But you're evil and insane," said a shocked Mack.

"That's the price of success in Cipher," said Dr. Namwen with a grin, "Master Greevil has been most pleased with my results. Just wait until he hears about my masterpiece: Project Omega."

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Mack.

"Because you won't be escaping from me," replied Dr. Namwen, "And I'm not going to reveal anything else about it."

"You also lied about the Gardevoir city," muttered Mack.

"Yes," replied Dr. Namwen, "Such a goldmine of Pokémon can't be overlooked. As far as I'm concerned, all the Pokémon in the world belong to Cipher. Your powers must be exceptionally strong in order for you to pry at my mind with the psychic jammers at full power. I find that telepathy is a lot harder to defeat than telekinetic and psychokinetic energies." Mack was no longer paying any attention to the deranged Dr. Namwen. Instead, Mack's senses had found something far more disturbing. Through a nearby wall, he could see yet another dark aura, but this aura was blacker than the night and seemed to radiate through the walls and the floor.

"Ah! You've noticed my other new pet," laughed Dr. Namwen, "It was quite the feisty one."

**  
**"Aura…" thought Mack with fear, "Where are you?"

"Yes! Call your mate right into my trap with your telepathy!" said an eager Dr. Namwen. Mack glared at Dr. Namwen.

"If only I could get out of here, I'd have your head!" growled Mack.

"Even if you could break out of your new home, I doubt you would be a match for my new, dark prize," cackled Dr. Namwen.

**-25-**

Meanwhile, Aura and William landed the S-5 several miles away from Alakaz.

"May as well catch them off guard," said Aura as she and Simon, K-1, William, Xavier and Central stepped out of the S-5 and marched towards Alakaz.

"I'm looking forward to this," said Simon with excitement, "It has been ages since I've unleashed my power."

"Just remember," warned K-1, "We want to incapacitate and capture the Cipher agents."

"The police will deal with them according to the law," said Central as the visor on her S-100 armor glowed red.

"The police won't be of any use. According to Cedric, Cipher went into the city and quickly replaced everyone of importance in Alakaz: the mayor, Mr. Allens. Virtually anyone who had power or wealth in Alakaz was imprisoned and kept out of sight. I'll bet my silver collar that none of the regular residents know what's going on in their city," grumbled Xavier as he hovered over the rest of the small army.

"They certainly have outdone themselves," remarked William as he rode on Aura's right shoulder, "Taking over a large city without anyone of importance knowing was all too easy for them." As they approached Alakaz, sentries on the outskirts of the city spotted the small army of Pokémon and robots as they marched onward.

"I don't believe what I'm seeing…" said one sentry with disbelief as he gazed through his binoculars, "There's a small army coming towards the city."

"You think the National Guard is coming for us?" asked another sentry.

"No," replied the first sentry, "It seems to be a group of Pokémon and a few…robots, I think."

"Let me see!" ordered the second sentry as he snatched the other sentry's binoculars. He quickly noticed a female Gardevoir with a familiar weapon on her shoulder.

"What do you make of this?" asked the first sentry.

"I don't believe it! It's that Gardevoir from back at Gardev! You know! The one with the machine gun?!" shouted the second sentry with fear.

"Not again…" grumbled the first sentry as he activated the alarms in Alakaz. Immediately, the mayor's voice could be heard throughout the city.

"Attention all citizens," said the false mayor, "We have a situation on our hands, so I suggest that everyone get indoors while the police deal with the problem. Thank you." The citizens of the city obeyed, not knowing what was really happening. Some people took refuge in Mr. Allen's hotel.

"This just keeps getting stranger and stranger," said one man.

"First the curfews and now this? What's going on?" asked a young woman.

"The police have been a lot rougher lately too," said another man. Meanwhile, deep underground, Dr. Namwen was still having a good time getting Mack irritated.

"I must say, you really had me fooled," laughed Dr. Namwen, "Sure, you and the guardian recovered her parents, but you two pulled it off without anyone even knowing. There are thousands of Cipher personnel in this city alone and you evaded every last one of them. To top things off, you destroyed the main controls for the security system and you overloaded the power grid! It took hours to get everything back on line again! If only you and your mate would join me. You and her would have a great future as my servants in Cipher."

"I won't lie," growled Mack as he glanced at Dr. Namwen, "Unlike someone I know."

"Go on. I could use some entertainment," said Dr. Namwen as he reclined in his chair.

"I had a lot of friends help me," said Mack.

"Oh, more Pokémon, eh? Well, I'll just have to capture and 'Convince' them to join Cipher as well," said Dr. Namwen with cruel laughter as an alarm suddenly sounded.

"Hmmmmm?" said a confused Mack.

"How irritating," grumbled Dr. Namwen as he walked to a computer console, "And I was having so much fun." A radio in the room crackled to life.

"Dr. Namwen! This is outpost baker! We have a problem here. A small army of Pokémon and what we think are some robots are marching towards the city," said a frightened sentry over the radio.

"Let's see what we have here," said Dr. Namwen as he furiously pounded on the keyboard until the view switched to a security camera just outside the city. Dr. Namwen's eyes lit up when he gazed at the small army.

"I know that ruby pendant anywhere!" shouted Dr. Namwen with delight.

"Aura!" said Mack happily and with some relief.

"Aura is quite a pretty name, isn't it?" cackled Dr. Namwen, "Don't worry my friend; I'll have you two lovebirds reunited soon enough!"

"Lovebirds?" thought Mack with surprise. The idea did sound wonderful. Lately, Mack could not stop thinking about Aura. Even now, in Dr. Namwen's clutches, he wanted to be with her and maybe spend the rest of his life with her.

"Interesting…" remarked Dr. Namwen, "You want to be her mate, but you're afraid to marry her because…you're not really…a Gardevoir?!" Mack fearfully turned his gaze towards Dr. Namwen.

"Absolutely fascinating!" said Dr. Namwen with excitement, "Let's see what else you've got in your skull that's useful." Mack backed into the back of the capsule and tried to shield himself, but his psychic powers were useless and there was nothing else he could do to stop Dr. Namwen from learning his secrets.

"So…you're the alien mercenary I've heard so much about! What's this? You got fused with the Guardian of Gardev in a teleportation accident? Then you and her were split in a crude manner during the destruction of Cecil's base near Gardev? This is utterly delightful! Not only that, but you and the fair guardian gave each other your greatest strengths? Now I must have both of you!" shouted Dr. Namwen as his insane laughter echoed in the room.

"You're dreaming again, doctor," grumbled Mack.

"Oh, if only I could get you and the guardian to have offspring while in my care," sobbed Dr. Namwen, "Just one Ralts from the two of you would be incredibly powerful, impervious to poison and disease and immensely intelligent! It would be an unstoppable servant and it would belong to me!"

"You are sick beyond description," growled Mack, "Aura is not going to let you see your twisted ideas come to pass. Neither will I!"

"Perhaps," chuckled Dr. Namwen as he faced Mack, "But now I have the missing link to Project Omega standing before me!" Dr. Namwen spoke into the radio near the computer.

"Let the guardian and her friends come right into the complex," ordered Dr. Namwen.

"But, sir!" complained the sentry.

"Set up your defenses and seal all entries into the base except for the main entrance below the bank, understood?" commanded Dr. Namwen.

"Yes, sir!" replied the sentry as the radio went silent. Dr. Namwen put his feet on the ground and slowly spun the office chair around.

"I might fail in keeping you and my new pet in bondage, but there is no reason why I have to make the rescue too easy," said Dr. Namwen with soft laughter, "I already have what I need right before me to complete my masterpiece!" Dr. Namwen pressed a few buttons on the control console. As the buttons flashed with light, Mack saw some sort of vapor come into the capsule.

"What are you doing?!" cried Mack fearfully.

"Just putting you into a deep sleep," said Dr. Namwen calmly, "Normally, 5ccs of this aerosol sleep-inducing gas in its liquid form is enough to knock out a Gyarados. I think 200ccs will work quite nicely on you. Just sit back and dream of your mate. When you awake, I'll either be long gone or you'll have Aura at your side in that comfortable little capsule."

"Project Omega…" thought Mack as he fell to the floor of the capsule and started to drift off to sleep, "Why am I the missing link in his plans?"

"Oh, and thank you for the use of your power armor, Dr. Foxx. I'll make good use of it!" laughed Dr. Namwen as Mack's vision went black.

**-26-**

Aura glanced around the abandoned city streets. The city was eerily quiet.

"Be ready for anything…" said Aura with caution as she took the FIW-37 off her shoulder and cocked it, setting the mighty weapon for stun.

"Where are all the people?" asked a bewildered William. Xavier glanced around at the seemingly empty buildings.

"There are people here, but they're all hiding and in fear," said Xavier.

"Might I suggest that we check out the bank?" asked Simon.

"May as well," said Aura quietly as they marched down the streets of Alakaz. As they walked passed a hotel, the desk clerk soon recognized the Gardevoir with the ruby pendant on her chest. He stuck his head out the door and called to her.

"Hey! It's dangerous out here! The mayor ordered everyone to get indoors! Come on!" shouted the clerk as he motioned for Aura and her companions to come into the hotel.

"Thank you," said Aura, "But what's going on?"

"The mayor said there was some sort of situation and that everyone should stay indoors," said the clerk as he noticed Aura's weapon, "Wait, was the alert about you?" The people in the hotel lobby gathered closer with curiosity.

"Isn't that the Guardian of Gardev?" asked one man.

"She can't be the problem around here. I heard that the guardian is honorable and very trustworthy," whispered one man to another.

"Gardevoir sure are beautiful," said a young woman quietly, "How could a Gardevoir be dangerous to anyone who hasn't done anything wrong?" The clerk looked around the room as the people discussed the matter amongst themselves. The clerk then faced Aura.

"I don't know what's going on, but there must be something seriously wrong if the Guardian of Gardev is here and heavily armed, I might add," said the clerk.

"And what is the meaning of this?" demanded a familiar voice.

"Mr. Allens!" stammered the clerk. John glared at Aura and her companions. William angrily growled at John. Aura kept her finger on the trigger of her rifle.

"I thought I gave you explicit orders to not let any Pokémon in here without a trainer and incase you didn't notice, these Pokémon are the reason we're all cowering in this building!" shouted John with rage, "Can't you get anything right, Bobby, you air-headed peon?!" Bobby glared at John.

"Mr. Allens would never insult me," growled Bobby, "Who are you?!" Aura tackled John to the ground.

"He's with Cipher!" screamed Aura as she wrestled with John.

"Cipher?" asked one man to another.

"I heard about a group called Cipher years ago. They supposedly vanished after being soundly defeated," answered the man.

"Get off of me, you freak!" shouted John. Simon ran along side Aura and put one of his scythes against John's throat.

"I suggest you quiet down, or you're going to be short one head," warned Simon.

"So, you can talk after all," said Bobby.

"Indeed," said Simon as John growled at him and Aura. Aura's eyes glowed bright white and she stared deep into John's eyes. Moments later, the false hotel owner was in a deep sleep.

"Cipher has taken over the city?" asked Bobby.

"From what we know, Cipher has replaced every key citizen here in Alakaz. Anyone who had power or wealth was replaced with an agent of Cipher," explained Xavier.

"Well, this loser won't be bothering anyone now," said K-1 with a grin as he extended a few arms from his chest compartment and hastily wrapped the Cipher agent up in duct tape. The people marveled at the cat-like robot. Central stood still while the townspeople talked anxiously.

"What will we do now?" asked Bobby.

"We're going to take back your city," said Aura firmly.

"So, the Guardian of Gardev is going to be the Guardian of Alakaz for the day?" asked Bobby.

"We'll be more than happy to kick Cipher out of here," said Xavier. Central continued to stand still. She appeared to be oblivious to what was happening around her.

"Is something wrong, Central?" asked K-1.

"I think I've found Mack's location. He's somewhere under the First National Bank here in Alakaz," replied Central, "Switching to X-ray mode." The armor's visor started to glow with a white light as the armor's head rotated.

"What's she doing?" asked William.

"Central is making a map of the subterranean areas of the city. That way, we'll be able to navigate Cipher's underground facilities without getting lost," answered K-1.

"Negative. There is only facility. It appears to be under most of the city," reported Central as the white light from the visor faded, "The main entryway is, in fact, under the bank."

"Well, then," said Xavier, "Let's get a move on!" Bobby and the townspeople watched as the small army of Pokémon and robots ran out of the hotel and towards the bank.

"Good luck," said Bobby quietly. Moments later, Aura and company had arrived at the bank. Oddly enough, no one had tried to stop their advance.

"Everyone, stay close," said Aura with caution as she turned on the shield generator.

"You should be able to take several direct hits if these agents are armed with Dr. Namwen's rifles," said K-1.

"His name is Dr. Alvin Newman," said Simon gruffly, "He took the name of Namwen after a freak accident."

"What happened to him?" asked Aura as they walked into the bank lobby.

"I'd rather not say," said Simon, "I've had too many nightmares about it." As they proceeded to the basement floors of the bank, Mack was finally waking up. As his vision cleared, he noticed that Dr. Namwen was gone and he was finally alone.

"Good riddance," thought Mack, "Dr. Namwen probably has the S-100 somewhere in this complex. I'm going to have to track it down and recover it at all costs." Mack looked down at his left arm as he felt some light pain coming from his elbow. He discovered a piece of cloth had been wrapped around his elbow and it was stained with a bit of his blood.

"Dr. Namwen must have put me to sleep so I would not resist him in order to draw some of my blood, but why?" thought Mack, "It must be for his 'Project Omega.' I hope he isn't trying to make powerful Pokémon clones. I'll never forget the horrors on Mewtwo's island. Then again, what other heinous experiments could he be plotting and what happened to Ramirez? I hope Aura finds him and finds me soon. I don't like the idea of staying with Dr. Namwen."


	10. Section 10

**-27-**

Glacian sat in Warren's office, meditating as usual. Alexander and Aurora joined him.

"Thanks for letting us join you," said Aurora, "This really does help with the stress."

"Between Ramirez, Mack and a possible wedding, I just couldn't keep my cool," said a relieved Alexander. Glacian frowned and shuddered as he fell face first onto the floor.

"Glacian?!" shouted Aurora. Warren and Jake quickly ran into the room.

"Oh, no…" said Glacian with deep fear as Warren and Jake tried to get Glacian into a nearby chair.

"What happened?" demanded Warren as he carefully laid Glacian back in the chair.

"I sensed a great evil…" said Glacian fearfully, "The man responsible for this has wicked schemes that he's set in motion. I only wish I could see what they were."

"Did you see our son? What became of him?" asked Aurora with concern.

"I saw nothing of Ramirez," replied Glacian as he sat up in the chair, "I did see something wonderful: Aura will be wed within the month, but to whom, I don't know."

"Do you think it was Mack?" asked Alexander.

"I hope so," remarked Aurora, "Aura deserves to have someone like him in her life."

"As much as we would like that, it may not come to pass," said Glacian, "Mack does not want to marry Aura because he was not originally of our species. Either way, if Mack refuses, Aura will have a mate."

"Did you see the wedding?" asked Warren.

"I saw everyone in Gardev at the wedding, but I did not get a look at the groom," said Glacian with dismay, "And Ramirez was nowhere to be found."

**-28-**

Back at Alakaz, Aura glanced around a corner in the basement of the bank. She held the rifle close to her chest, ready for anything. All she could think about was saving Mack and her brother, Ramirez.

"Warning. Several signs of life detected," said Central with concern.

"Be ready," said Xavier.

"Remember, we want to take them alive, so knock them out," said K-1 as his plasma Vulcan cannons unfolded from his sides.

"Minimal force recommended," said Central as her wrist cannons unfolded. Suddenly, a flurry of Pokéballs flew around them. As they hit the ground, an army of vicious Pokémon surrounded Aura and her comrades. Central analyzed the offending Pokémon. Her vision detected the dark auras around them.

"Shadow Pokémon detected. I suggest a new strategy," said Central as the shoulder cannons on the armor folded down into place, "Maximum force recommended."

"They're shadow Pokémon!" said Aura as she placed the rifle on her back, "Just hit them with light!" Aura tossed William the FIW-59A from her thigh.

"I don't think I can use this thing…" whimpered William as he struggled to get his small fingers on the trigger, "What if I hit one of you guys with this thing?"

"Relax, William. You can do this" said K-1 as he glanced at William, "On second thought, give me the pistol." K-1 quickly extended an arm from his chest compartment and snatched the elemental pistol from William.

"Mode change," said Central as the wrist cannons hummed to life, "Light Beam mode activated." The Pokémons' trainers were nearby, not sure what to make of this small army of invaders.

"We have to beat down a few Pokémon and a couple of trashcans?" said one Cipher agent as he pointed at Central and K-1.

"Good thing I was not programmed with a temper," said Central.

"But I was!" shouted K-1 with anger as he jumped forward and tackled the agents to the ground.

"Attack!" ordered another agent. K-1 got back to his feet and fired a few shots from the FIW-59 at the attacking Pokémon. The shots struck the shadow Pokémon squarely and they fell to the ground, dazed as the dark power was purged from them. Aura jumped out from behind the corner and fired beams of explosive light into the crowd of shadow Pokémon. The agents stared onward in disbelief as their Pokémon were launched against the ceiling and walls of the corridor. Central re-opened her wrist cannons and started unloading on the Cipher agents. They dropped to the ground unconscious as they were struck with the orange bolts of energy.

"I've got 25!" shouted Simon as he body-slammed an agent into a wall.

"13 here!" yelled Xavier as he blew some agents off their feet with a Hyper Beam.

"This isn't a contest!" complained Aura as she continued her assault on the shadow Pokémon.

"That's your thirty-eighth knockout!" said Simon with a grin.

"Fine!" growled Aura as she slammed an agent into a wall with telekinesis, "Thirty-nine!" An Ekans was onto William and chased him down the hallway. William jumped onto a bookshelf and watched with fear as the Ekans started to slither up the large bookshelf.

"How many have you taken down, William?" asked Simon as he knocked another agent to the ground.

"Um…" said William as the Ekans slithered further up the shelf towards him, "I'll get back to you!" William needed to do something and fast. He looked to his left and discovered a pile of large dictionaries.

"Do you require assistance?" asked Central as her flurry of shots knocked another agent to the floor, unconscious.

"I've got this one!" said William as he lifted one of the thick, heavy books over his head. The Ekans hissed and flicked its tongue at William.

"Feast your eyes on this, Simon!" said William as Simon faced William, "This is my own special version of Strength!" William threw the book down, hitting the Ekans right on its nose. The Ekans' nose twitched and it soon let out an explosive sneeze.

"Yes, yes! Most impressive!" shouted Simon with sarcasm as he threw yet another agent up into the ceiling. The Ekans glared at William and started on its way back up the bookshelf. William grabbed an even heavier book and struggled to get it above his head.

"Take this, you repulsive reptile!" said William with determination as he threw one large book after another at the Ekans. The Ekans tried to dodge the Pikachu's textbook attack, but kept getting nailed by one heavy book after another. The Ekans was thoroughly angered by the electric rodent's meager, yet painful attacks and leapt onto the top of the bookshelf as William ran out of dictionaries. Xavier glanced over at William and frowned. The Ekans cocked back its head and kept a close eye on William as it got ready to strike. Xavier grumbled and fired a Hyper Beam down the hallway, blowing the Ekans down the corridor with an explosion of light.

"Hey!" complained William as he jumped off the smoldering remains of the bookshelf, "That one was mine!"

"I think your victim almost had you for lunch," said Xavier with a chuckle, "Say, what's your count up to now?"

"Oh, shut up!" grumbled William as he and Xavier leapt back into the fray. Further down the hallway, Mack could hear loud explosions and thuds.

"I wonder what's going on down there?" thought Mack, "Could it be? Is that Aura?" Simon lunged forward and knocked another agent to the floor. Moments later, Aura and her friends heard more footsteps thundering down the hallways.

"Danger!" warned Central, "Incoming reinforcements!"

"More already? Excellent!" said Simon with glee.

"I would not be too eager for combat. We are significantly outnumbered," cautioned K-1. Aura glanced over her shoulder and immediately recognized what the soldiers were carrying: Dr. Namwen's lethal weapons.

"Everyone, get behind me!" commanded Aura as she adjusted her shield generator. Aura's comrades quickly got behind Aura as the troopers unsheathed their weapons.

"Oh, goody!" said Simon with a smile as he glanced at their white, armored uniforms, "More storm troopers!" The troopers stopped in their tracks, just yards from Aura and her friends. One trooper stepped forward and glared at the young Gardevoir.

"I'm impressed. You've defeated many of my best comrades and their Pokémon. If you surrender right now, none of you will be harmed, understood?" growled the trooper. Aura just shook her head with dismay.

"Bring it on!" shouted Simon, much to everyone's surprise. The trooper jumped back in ranks with his comrades.

"Open fire!" commanded the trooper. Instantly, the troopers pointed their rifles at the group of Pokémon and fired a rain of lead at them. Aura just chuckled as the bullets deflected harmlessly off her shield, making gaping holes in the nearby walls.

"The weapons aren't working!" complained one trooper as he inserted another clip of ammunition.

"Maintain fire!" ordered another trooper as the barrage of bullets continued. The loud bang from the rifles was deafening and echoed down the hallways. Meanwhile, Mack could overhear the commotion and quickly got back on his feet. Suddenly, a stray bullet shot through a wall in the room and eliminated a large, black box that was in front of the prison capsule. Instantly, Mack could sense what was happening around him.

"That must have been the psychic jammer," thought Mack. He tried to focus his power and concentrate, but he could not even make the capsule crack. He took a closer look at the capsule walls. Incredibly, the walls were 5 feet thick of solid, flawless diamond.

"Dr. Namwen must have managed to hack into the databanks of the S-100. That's the only way he could have synthesized diamond as strong and pure as this," though Mack with a scowl. He soon felt a great sense of relief as he noticed Aura's presence. He closed his eyes and tried to talk to Aura through telepathy. In the meantime, Aura knew they were running out of time.

"Xavier," said Aura via telepathy, "I need to get through and find Mack, but first we need to disarm these cretins."

"Understood," replied Xavier as he stayed behind Aura's barrier, "What shall I do?"

"Telekinesis!" answered Aura as her eyes started to glow brightly.

"What's it doing?!" yelled one trooper to his commander.

"I don't like the look of this!" shouted the commander as he saw the Lugia's eyes start to glow as well. With one quick yank, Aura and Xavier tore the rifles from the troopers' hands. The troopers watched with disbelief as their weapons were clumped together in a ball and then quickly crushed into a cube of rubble. The commander covered his ears at the sound of the bending and straining metal. Aura and Xavier tossed the crumpled weapons down the hallway behind them. The troopers stood silently and watched with disbelief as their once gleaming rifles flew in a crumpled mess down the hallway, out of sight.

"Any more bright ideas?!" shouted another trooper.

"Indeed I do," grumbled the commander, "Regroup!" The troopers ran down the hallway.

"Warning," said Central calmly as she redeployed her wrist cannons, "Incoming reinforcements."

"We don't have time for this!" shouted Aura as she reloaded her own weapon. As another round of troopers and Pokémon started racing down the hallways, Aura could hear Mack calling her. Aura now knew exactly where Mack was.

"I know where Mack is!" said Aura with happiness, "He's down the hallway, past those soldiers!" Central glanced at a nearby wall as hew visor glowed with a bright white light. Central then faced Aura and glanced her over.

"A new strategy is recommended once again," said Central as her left shoulder cannon folded down into place. Central turned towards the wall on their left.

"We'd better stand back," warned K-1 as everyone else in the group took a few steps away from Central.

"Size calculations confirmed," said Central as she turned her head around and faced Aura, "You should be able to fit in the air vents, but you will need to leave your weapon behind." Aura tossed her rifle to K-1. K-1 quickly extended two arms from his chest compartment and caught the FIW-37.

"Please stand back," said Central as her shoulder cannon started glowing. Moments later, a stream of bright fire shot out of the cannon and melted a large hole in the wall in a matter of seconds. Shortly thereafter, Central put the cannon back in its neutral position and pointed one of her wrist cannons at the glowing slag from the wall.

"What was that?" asked Aura with curiosity.

"That was an FIW-100A Plasma Thrower. The weapon simply fires a stream of super-heated gas. This can be used to quickly defeat obstacles and destroy robotic personnel at close range. Fortunately, Mack has never had to use it against living targets. The resulting attack would literally disintegrate a living being," explained K-1 as Central fired an Ice Beam from her elemental cannons, quickly freezing the molten metal. Aura glanced down the hallway as the Cipher troopers and more shadow Pokémon thundered down the hallway towards her.

"You had best proceed at once, madam," said Central as she faced the incoming attackers.

"We can hold these peons off without any trouble," said Simon as he grinded his claws into the floor.

"Good luck, everyone!" said Aura as she crawled into the hole in the wall. Inside the wall, she found an air shaft and started to slide through the shaft, towards Mack's telepathic calls. Meanwhile, the troopers continued their run towards Xavier, William, K-1, Central and Simon. Simon soon noticed a picture of a familiar man on a nearby wall. The picture was of a short, old man.

"Master Greevil, eh? I remember him," thought Simon as he glanced down the hallway, "Keep sharp everyone! Yoda sent us some more company." As the troopers ran forwards down the hallway, one trooper was questioning his commander.

"Those Pokémon already took out most of out forces and they destroyed all of Dr. Namwen's rifles, how the heck are we supposed to fight back?!" demanded a younger trooper.

"Our orders are to hold them off as long as possible! We have to give Dr. Namwen as much time as we can!" answered the commander. The younger trooper gazed at the group of Pokémon down the corridor.

"Wasn't there a Gardevoir with them?" asked the trooper.

"It probably ran off. Pay no attention to it," replied the commander, "Now, let's try to shut these losers down!"

"Play time," said Simon quietly with a sinister smile on his face. As Simon and the rest of the Pokémon fought with the Cipher troopers, Aura continued down the airshaft slowly. The airshaft was very confining and Aura barely fit through. She could hear the sound of gunfire as it echoed through the metallic walls of the shaft. Minutes later, she finally came across an opening in the vent. Mack glanced upwards towards the ceiling and heard something thumping above.

"What's this?" thought Mack. Moments later, an access panel in the ceiling dropped to the ground. Aura jumped to the floor below and glanced at Mack.

"Aura?!" shouted Mack with surprise. Aura smiled at Mack as he ran to the front of the capsule and pressed his hands against the clear walls.

"How should I get you out of there?" asked Aura. Mack glanced over at a computer terminal in the room.

"Dr. Namwen was using that console earlier. You should be able to hack it and open the capsule," said Mack. Aura ran over to the console and gasped. Somehow, a rogue bullet from a trooper's rifle had blasted a hole into the back of the computer.

"Have you tried to break out?" asked Aura.

"I tried, but I can't manage it," said Mack, "The walls of this capsule are made out of diamond and are about five feet thick! The floor and ceiling are heavily reinforced too. I guess the only way in or out of this capsule is teleportation." Aura focused her power and could feel that something nearby was restraining her power.

"Is there a psychic jammer in this room?" asked Aura as she quickly glanced around the room.

"A stray bullet destroyed the jammer in front of the capsule, but there could be one close by," answered Mack as the sound of gunfire echoed in the room.

"It's too dangerous to try and find it now with the war that's going on just outside the door," said Aura. Mack faced Aura and gazed into her eyes.

"We'll have to combine our power," said Mack, "There is no way this capsule could withstand both of us!" Aura nodded and closed her eyes. Mack closed his eyes as well. A blue aura surrounded them as the diamond walls of the capsule started to strain.

"It's working!" said Aura as she gritted her teeth. Her pendant glowed brightly with a brilliant red light. The capsule walls were incredibly strong and the hidden psychic jammer was making the use of her power almost impossible.

"We can do this!" shouted Mack as the capsule walls started to crack. Moments later, the capsule walls shattered into hundreds of pieces and fell to the floor around Mack. Aura and Mack fell to the ground with exhaustion.

"I never want to do that again…" groaned Aura.

"Same here…" grumbled Mack as he got back up on his feet and jumped out of the remains of the prison capsule. Me walked to Aura and helped her back on her feet. Aura immediately wrapped her arms around Mack.

"I was afraid I wouldn't see you again," said Aura with tears of joy.

"Nah!" said Mack happily as he held Aura tightly, "Even if it had taken you a century to find me, I think you would have still come for me." Aura faced Mack.

"Have you seen Ramirez?" asked Aura.

"I'm afraid not," answered Mack, "Dr. Namwen did mention that he had some sort of a new pet, besides me."

"A new pet?" asked Aura with disgust.

"Whatever it is, it was being held in a room adjacent to this one. In the room I saw an aura, just like the kind we've seen around shadow Pokémon, but this aura was blacker than anything I've ever seen. The darkness seemed to radiate into this room," explained Mack. Aura soon noticed the bloodstained cloth band on Mack's elbow.

"What happened? Were you hurt?" asked Aura with concern. Mack growled with anger.

"Dr. Namwen managed to draw some of my blood. He said it was for 'Project Omega.' I have no idea what he's up too, but it can't be good. He was going on and on about how much he would have liked for me and you to have offspring while imprisoned here," growled Mack as he held Aura in a tight embrace.

"He wants super-Pokémon of some sort, doesn't he?" asked Aura fearfully.

"How he's going to do that is anyone's guess," grumbled Mack, "He also knows my secret that I'm not really a Gardevoir. With my blood at his disposal, he could make super Pokémon clones that would not only be impervious to disease and poisons, but they would be practically unstoppable!"

"I think we'd better find Dr. Namwen and end this!" shouted Aura.

"There's more to that maniac than meets the eye," warned Mack, "He was exposed to the dark power from a shadow chamber. I don't know how it happened, but Dr. Namwen was twisted from the black energies. He's brilliant and incredibly intelligent, but he's utterly evil now." Suddenly, the door in the room was blown open by an unseen force. Xavier stuck his head through the door and stared at Mack and Aura with shock as they embraced. Mack and Aura quickly let go of each other and blushed from embarrassment.

"Incase you two didn't know, we're in the middle of a war here!" laughed Xavier as the rest of the group entered the room.

"We managed to eliminate them, for now," said Simon as he grabbed a shard of the synthetic diamond and sharpened his claws with it.

"All enemy forces are in a complete retreat for the time being," reported Central. Mack faced Aura.

"We'll have to go after Dr. Namwen or he might escape. We'll have to be careful because he still has the S-100 with him," cautioned Mack.

"There is no way he could possibly repair the S-100," said K-1 as the group walked into the hallway, "Even if he did, the S-100 would not be running at maximum efficiency."

"Considering what he's already done, we can't be careless," said Mack. He glanced down the hallway. He could sense Dr. Namwen's black presence roughly 200 yards away.

"We'll go after Dr. Namwen," said Mack as Aura grabbed his right hand, "The rest of you guys will need to stay here and eliminate any more enemy forces that might come through here."

"Understood," replied Central.

"You got it!" answered K-1.

"We'll keep this area secured in the meantime," said Xavier.

"Good luck!" said William happily as Mack and Aura started running down the hallway. As they raced through the corridors, Aura pulled the sapphire pendant from a satchel on her right shoulder. She held the pendant out to Mack.

"Take this!" said Aura firmly, "It will make you stronger!"

"Pardon me…" said Mack with some hesitation, "But isn't that supposed to be a present for your mate?" Aura blushed and quickly put the pendant back in her satchel. Mack wondered why he didn't accept Aura's gift.

"There is no reason why I shouldn't marry Aura," thought Mack, "But still…I'm not really a Gardevoir! I can't marry Aura knowing that."


	11. Section 11

**-29-**

Meanwhile, back in Gardev, Glacian was trembling in Warren's office.

"What have you seen?" asked Warren as Alexander put a cold, damp washcloth over Glacian's forehead.

"That…horrible fiend…" murmured Glacian. Jake suddenly ran into the room.

"How long has Glacian been like this?" asked Jake with concern.

"Three hours now," said Aurora with sadness.

"He must have seen something horrific. I've seen other Gardevoir driven near the brink of insanity from visions," said Warren as Dr. Eric Newman scrambled into the office.

"I came as soon as I could. Thanks for sending Jake after me," said Eric as he gazed at Glacian.

"No…Nooooo!" screamed Glacian. Aurora put her right hand on Glacian's shoulder. Eric glanced at Glacian.

"What on earth could he have seen that would scare him this much?" asked Eric to himself.

"Maybe it has something to do with Mack and Aura?" asked Aurora.

"Not likely, remember, Glacian said that Aura and Mack were fine in his visions. Aura will even be married within a month, even if she isn't to Mack," said Alexander.

"What about Ramirez? Glacian said that he was not at Aura's wedding," asked Aurora.

"Ramirez?" said Eric, "I saw him vanish in a flash in light days ago. Considering what Jake has told me, Mack disappeared in the same fashion."

"What would you make of this?" asked Warren. Aurora held Glacian's hand, trying to comfort him. Eric glanced at Glacian as he trembled with fear.

"I don't think I want to know…" sighed Eric, "Either way, it looks like my evil brother managed to build a copy of Project Epsilon."

"Xavier said that Cipher agents had to be close in order for the machine to work. Xavier also mentioned that by the time he had sensed them, it was too late," explained Warren.

"I think Glacian and Ramirez would have sensed the agents if they had come anywhere near Gardev," said Alexander. Outside, Fredrick, Anna, Li and Sakura the Kirlia were eavesdropping.

"Our great-great-grandfather isn't scared of anything," grumbled Anna.

"He knows something, but he's too scared to tell anyone," said Fredrick as he tried to read Glacian's thoughts.

"I just hope that Mack and Aura are okay…" sighed Sakura.

"I hope Mack marries Aura. If he doesn't marry her, than who is my new big brother going to be?" asked an anxious Anna.

**-30-**

Mack and Aura continued to jog down the hallway towards the black aura from Dr. Namwen.

"We're getting very close," said Mack.

"Now we can put an end to this!" said Aura with resolve as she and Mack battered down a set of large, metal double doors. The doors sounded like thunder as they fell on the metal floor. The sound echoed throughout the gigantic room.

"Looks like another trainer room," thought Mack as he and Aura cautiously walked to the middle of the cavernous room.

"Actually, this is the testing room," answered Dr. Namwen's voice, "This is where many of my newest inventions have been tested. My new shadow Pokémon are also thoroughly evaluated in this arena."

"Where are you?!" screamed Aura with rage as she looked around the room, but saw nothing but the large metal panels that covered the ceiling and walls.

"Ah. The fair Guardian of Gardev," said Dr. Namwen with cruel laughter, "I think I remember testing one of my barrier-piercing rifles in this room to."

"Just come out here and fight, you coward!" shouted Mack.

"Don't interrupt my feminine friend;" cackled Dr. Namwen, "I was just getting to the good part. See that bloodstain on the floor at your feet, Guardian of Gardev?"

"What of it?" growled Aura as she got ready for a fight.

"Your dear father was a nice test subject for my rifles. He survived and healed a few weeks later without so much as a scar, but the pain he felt was incredibly unpleasant. A pity I couldn't use his blood for my studies. There was certainly plenty of it on the floor to work with!" laughed Dr. Namwen as Mack's eyes glowed red with hatred.

"And why are you telling us this?!" shouted Mack with rage as Aura ran to him in tears.

"My, my. You sure are protective of a female Gardevoir that isn't your mate," remarked Dr. Namwen, "I knew her father would survive the weapons test. The Guardians of Gardev are typically very resilient. At any rate, I want the both of you to be brimming with anger and hatred while I conduct my next experiments."

"Anger and hatred? You've got that part down…" growled Mack as Aura cried into his right shoulder.

"Good. Now we can move to the next phase," said Dr. Namwen as six blobs of light fell into the room in front of Mack and Aura. The light disappeared, revealing a group of six, jet-black Alakazams. Mack gazed at the dark Alakazams: The aura he saw around them was identical to that of Dr. Namwen.

"More shadow Pokémon?" asked Mack with contempt.

"Indeed," laughed Dr. Namwen, "Allow me to introduce you to Pestilence, Thanatos, Devastation, Virulent, Destruction and Hades. So far, your power over light has purified every other shadow Pokémon that has been set before you, but these Pokémon should be more than a match for you and the Guardian of Gardev! You see, they got to partake in the same dark power that made me what I am today!" Aura lifted her head and glared at the black Alakazams. Darkness seemed to radiate from them and their eyes were completely black as well.

"The deepest darkness can't overcome even the dimmest light, Dr. Namwen," scoffed Mack.

"I don't think so," replied Dr. Namwen, "The same process that transformed me and my dear Alakazams was also used on Project XD001."

"And what is Project XD001?" demanded Mack.

"I may as well tell you and Aura since you won't be leaving this facility alive, anyway. Project XD001 just a Lugia that was exposed to the strongest levels of darkness that our technology could generate. XD001 is impossible to purify; therefore, these Alakazams should be more than a match for you and Aura," explained Dr. Namwen with a chuckle.

"We'll see about that," grumbled Mack as he and Aura faced the shadow Alakazams.

"Indeed we shall," laughed Dr. Namwen, "Pestilence, Thanatos, Devastation, Virulent, Destruction, and Hades: Kill them!" Mack and Aura saw the dark aura's around the Alakazams get even blacker as they focused their power.

"The power of evil can never truly win!" shouted Mack with resolve as he glanced at Aura. Aura nodded her head as she and Mack stared down the Alakazams. Elsewhere, Dr. Namwen watched the fight using the security cameras with disbelief as Mack and Aura started to lift off the ground. Their skirts fluttered from a strange breeze as they became enshrouded in bubbles of blinding light.

"What are you doing?" demanded Dr. Namwen, "There is no hope! Give up now and the two of you can still live happily ever after in my care." Mack and Aura did not answer as the light surrounding them got brighter and brighter. Suddenly, the Alakazams thrust their hands forward and fired thick beams of darkness at the two glowing Gardevoirs. Dr. Namwen looked on with shock as the pure, dark power of his Alakazams was absorbed by the blinding light.

"Impossible!" thought Dr. Namwen with fear, "That amount of dark power should have killed them instantly." Moments later, the bubbles of light around Mack and Aura exploded outwards as a tidal wave of light swept through the arena, sending the black Alakazams into the air. As they fell to the ground, the dark shade of their bodies dissolved, revealing their normal, yellow and brownish colors. Mack and Aura slowly set their feet back on the ground as Dr. Namwen howled with rage.

"How could you do that to my Alakazams?!" demanded an enraged Dr. Namwen.

"Now they're purified," said Mack.

"They won't be following your orders any more. As long as you're controlled by darkness, they'll never help you with your demented plans," said Aura. The Alakazams glanced around the room with a confused look in their eyes.

"Of course they'll obey me," said Dr. Namwen as his anger started to fade, "They are MY Pokémon, after all." The Alakazams gazed at Mack and Aura.

"So, the Guardian of Gardev has come to our aid after all," said Thanatos.

"We would be happy to help you eradicate Cipher from the world, if you'll let us," said Hades. Elsewhere, Dr. Namwen grinded his fingernails into the keyboard as he heard what his Alakazams were saying to his sworn enemies.

"What are you traitors doing?!" demanded Dr. Namwen, "Kill them at once!" His Alakazams faced a nearby camera and glared into it.

"We will no longer be your slaves, Dr. Newman!" growled Thanatos.

"My name is DR. NAMWEN!!" screamed Dr. Namwen.

"What's the deal with this psycho?" asked a bewildered Mack.

"After the incident, he changed to his name to Namwen. He wanted nothing to do with his twin brother since Eric was always kind and caring, just like Alvin was before he was infused with darkness. Alvin saw Eric as nothing but a weakling," explained Hades.

"It's of no concern if you won't obey me now. I'll deal with the lot of you when we get back to headquarters," grumbled Dr. Namwen. Somewhere, deeper into the underground complex, Mack heard a gigantic machine roar to life. Moments later, the once black Alakazams vanished from the room in a flash of light.

"Don't let him take us away!" pleaded Thanatos as he disappeared. Mack stared into the security camera.

"Project Epsilon Mark II, eh?" asked Mack.

"Indeed," replied Dr. Namwen.

"Okay then, how come you won't use your machine to restrain Aura and me?" asked Mack.

"That is simply because I want to tear you and Aura limb-from-limb myself!" snapped Dr. Namwen, "It's too dangerous to let you and Aura run around freely with your healing powers while Cipher tries to conquer the world with shadow Pokémon! With a flick of your wrists, either of you could instantly purify any shadow Pokémon! Master Greevil would not be pleased if he knew that his prize, XD001, was in danger!" Suddenly, something else came to Mack's mind.

"Where's Cecil?" demanded Mack.

"Cecil? That buffoon is elsewhere at another research facility," replied Dr. Namwen as the doors in the room quickly sealed themselves, "Don't bother trying to teleport away, my friends, the psychic jammers in this room are now running at full power. If you so much as use telepathy now, you'll be killed from the violent interference!"

"Why would we run anyway?" asked Mack, "I want to finish this now!"

"Agreed, Dr. Foxx. I want to send a few ornate coffins back to Gardev before the day is over," said Dr. Namwen as a door on the opposite side of the field slowly opened.

"Don't count on it," warned Mack as he heard the sound of a strange machine coming towards him and Aura from the shadows.

"I have no need for you anymore. With your blood, I now have everything I need to make Project Omega successful. I really must thank you for your visit, your help and for lending me your armor, you freakish mercenary!" laughed Dr. Namwen. Mack took a few steps back as the Dr. Namwen entered the room in the S-100 Type I Battle Armor.

"How could you have possibly repaired the S-100?!" said Mack with shock.

"Let's just say I managed to learn a few tricks from my useless brother," replied Dr. Namwen with cruel laughter, "For example, using a group of Alakazams to enhance my own intelligence via telepathy. My Alakazams may be useless now, but I can fix that later on. I'm going to relish their screams as I slam them with more dark energy. The only thing that could possibly give me more pleasure is to splatter your blood all over this room! Red really does accent the silver metal, wouldn't you agree?" Mack didn't answer. He and Aura thrust their arms forward and fired one beam of explosive light after another at the S-100. Dr. Namwen laughed as the rays of light deflected harmlessly off the energy shields of the S-100.

"You fools! You should know better, Dr. Foxx," laughed Dr. Namwen, "This armor suit is practically invincible! Plus, you can't use your psychic powers on me while the jamming array is armed. I will admit that I could not fully repair all the systems on this work of art. Why, if the jamming array was operating properly, you wouldn't even see or hear me as I slaughter you and Aura. However, that would be dull and pointless. I want to see the look of absolute terror on your face as I run my plasma claws through Aura and then through you! Perhaps you want another chance to surrender? I could forgive you and Aura for what you've done. After all, I would really like to know where you got the materials to build this thing."

"We're not going to help you or Cipher!" shouted Aura as her eyes glowed red with rage.

"Well spoken, Aura," said Mack with a smile. Aura giggled and then glared at Dr. Namwen.

"Then you leave me no choice," said Dr. Namwen as the shoulder cannons lowered into place. Mack and Aura tried to fire more explosive light at the S-100, but their power of light was still deflected harmlessly of the S-100's shields. Dr. Namwen walked towards Mack and Aura as their attacks lit up the room. He stopped just a few yards away from Mack and Aura.

"It's no use," said Dr. Namwen as Mack and Aura ceased their attack, "And my patience has run out." Mack watched closely as the Plasma Vulcan on Dr. Namwen's left shoulder started to spin up. Mack jumped in front of Aura, ready to defend her.

"We're no match against the S-100," thought Mack. He could sense the distortion from several nearby psychic jammers, but something was amiss: the distortion was becoming less and less. Moments later, the distortion was gone, except for the jamming array in the S-100.

"What's the meaning of this?" said Dr. Namwen, "Why are the jammers malfunctioning? No matter!" Dr. Namwen returned his attention to Mack and Aura. He laughed as the onboard computers of the S-100 acquired a targeting lock. Mack braced himself, not knowing if he could withstand an onslaught from the FIW-100B Plasma Vulcan, which could fire thousands of bolts of super-heated gas a minute.

"Farewell, Dr. Foxx," laughed Dr. Namwen, "And don't worry, I'll take good care of Aura!" Suddenly, a shadowed figure blasted its way through the ceiling and body slammed Dr. Namwen.

"You will do no such thing, Dr. Newman," growled Simon.

"You! I thought the troops were keeping you and your crummy cohorts busy!" yelled Dr. Namwen as he tried to get back to his feet, "The controls are more sensitive than I thought!" Mack sneered at Dr. Namwen as he tried to get the S-100 upright.

"I owe you one, Simon," said Mack.

"I believe we're even. After all, Aura had to use your knowledge in order to free me from my prison capsule," replied Simon.

"So, how do we stop this thing?" asked Aura as Dr. Namwen flopped on the floor.

"The S-100 can only be disabled by strong, repeated blows. That should damage the internal systems. If we can knock the jamming array and the hydraulics offline, he'll be helpless. There's no way he can hold up 800 pounds of metal by himself," explained Mack as Dr. Namwen got back on his feet.

"So, you want to help them, Simon? No matter! I'll kill the lot of you now!" screamed Dr. Namwen as the plasma claws extended from his gauntlets.

"We'll keep him busy. You will have to attack Dr. Namwen at just the right moments," said Mack.

"I'll wait for your signal," answered Simon as he jumped back through the ceiling.

"He's stronger than he looks," remarked Aura.

"Running away so soon, Simon?" laughed Dr. Namwen, "It's wise to run now." Mack and Aura thrust their hands forward in unison and fired a continuous beam of light at the S-100.

"Just hold him back!" shouted Mack. Aura nodded as her pendant started to glow with a blinding, red light. Dr. Namwen struggled against the beams of light.

"Is that the best you can do?" asked Dr. Namwen with disappointment. He continued onwards with the light slowing down his steps. Soon, he was close enough to slash Aura with his plasma claws.

"Mack!" said Aura with fear as she gazed at the green, glowing bars of energy on Dr. Namwen's gauntlets.

"NOW!!" screamed Mack. Instantly, Simon shot through the ceiling, thrust his claws forward and knocked Dr. Namwen to the ground. Mack was shocked as Simon's claws effortlessly pierced the S-100's shields.

"Arrrg!" shouted Dr. Namwen with anger, "How could you have gotten through my defenses so easily?" Dr. Namwen grabbed Simon and threw him to the ground and was about to drive his armored foot through Simon and the floor.

"He couldn't get the shields to work properly!" shouted Mack, "The shields can only block energy!" Mack and Aura fired more beams of light at the S-100, knocking Dr. Namwen to the ground. Simon leapt in the air and came screaming down at Dr. Namwen.

"This is my impersonation of Fly!" shouted Simon as he body slammed Dr. Namwen into the floor.

"Warning!" said an electronic voice in the S-100's helmet, "Gravity Gyro offline." Mack watched as the S-100 slowed down for a moment as the hydraulics systems strained to move the heavy armor off the floor.

"Gravity Gyro?" asked Aura.

"The Gravity Gyro bends the gravitational field of a planet to make the S-100 weight less; thus, the S-100 can move more nimbly despite its true weight," explained Mack as he and Aura tried to pin Dr. Namwen to the floor with more blasts of light.

"You'll pay for this!" screamed Dr. Namwen as he tore a giant, metal panel from the floor and threw it at Mack and Aura.

"Watch out, Aura!" shouted Mack as he took Aura up in his arms and jumped out of the way.

"I'll kill you all!" yelled Dr. Namwen as Simon slammed headfirst into the back of the S-100, knocking Dr. Namwen to the floor.

"Warning!" said the electronic voice again, "Shields offline; Jamming Array offline."

"Oh, dear…" said Dr. Namwen.

"Now, Aura," said Mack as he set Aura back on her feet. They grinned at each other and pointed their right hands at Dr. Namwen. A blue aura surrounded the S-100 as Mack and Aura's eyes glowed with a white light.

"Here comes trouble…" griped Dr. Namwen as the S-100 floated off the floor. Mack and Aura waved their hands to the left and the S-100 went careening into a wall on the left at high speed.

"Oof!" shouted Dr. Namwen as the armor slammed into the wall. Mack and Aura waved their hands to the right and the S-100 sailed into a wall on the opposite side of the arena.

"Arrrg!" shouted Dr. Namwen as the top half of the armor slammed into the wall. Then, Mack and Aura raised their hands towards the ceiling and the S-100 flew up and slammed into the ceiling, destroying a few area lights. Dr. Namwen screamed as sparks and electricity surrounded the S-100. Finally, Mack and Aura let their arms fall to their sides and the S-100 started to plummet towards the floor.

"Simon! Finish it!" commanded Mack. Simon nodded and readied himself. As the S-100 sailed towards Simon, he focused his power.

"Oh, Nooooo!!" screamed Dr. Namwen at the top of his lungs as he fell towards Simon. Simon grinned and jumped into the air and intercepted the S-100 with a crushing blow from both his claws. The S-100 shot to the far side of the arena as fast as a bullet, smashing into the wall. Aura looked on as the S-100 fell to the floor.

"Is he…dead…?" asked Aura.

"He's alive," answered Mack, "The S-100 can cushion the operator from just about anything. Even if a large boat was dropped on it, the operator would survive." Dr. Namwen stood up and took one step forward.

"Enough of this outrage," growled Dr. Namwen, "Say your prayers!" As Dr. Namwen stepped towards Mack and Aura, sparks fell on the floor from damaged wires and circuits.

"Danger!" warned the electronic voice, "Power systems offline; hydraulics offline; Power loss inevitable!" The S-100 stopped in its tracks.

"Come on you piece of junk!" shouted Dr. Namwen as he tried to move the S-100, "Come on! Something, anything: WORK!!" Mack walked up to the S-100 and put his hand on the back of the helmet. The S-100 teetered, than fell to the floor face first.

"That's enough, Dr. Newman," said Simon as he and Aura cautiously approached the fallen madman.

"For the last time, my name is Dr. Namwen!" screamed Dr. Namwen, "Simon, Mack, Aura: I underestimated your ability to work together and your resourcefulness. Together, you've defeated me, but this isn't over yet." Aura stormed towards Dr. Namwen as smoke poured from the joints of Mack's battle armor. The smell of burning electronics filled the arena.

"Where's my brother?!" demanded Aura.

"Your brother?" asked Dr. Namwen, "Ah, yes. Of course. Ramirez."

"Where is he Namwen?" said Mack as he grabbed the S-100's neck and dragged the armor off the floor.

"Looks like he retained his strength," said Aura with amazement, "No Gardevoir is that strong, physically."

"I'll bet you share that ability too, Aura. You and Mack share all of each others abilities," said Simon.

"You want to see your beloved brother, Aura? Fine with me," said Dr. Namwen as the S-100 started to glow with a bluish-white light, "I'll meet you up ahead and you will get to see him once again."

"Where are you going?!" demanded Mack as the S-100 glowed brighter.

"I have a few things to take care of," replied Dr. Namwen calmly, "I'll be waiting about 200 yards down the hallway with Ramirez." The S-100 immediately vanished as Dr. Namwen finished speaking. Mack growled, fell to his knees and started pounding the floor with frustration.

"After all that, the battle is still not over?" asked a bewildered Simon. Aura walked over to Mack and put her right hand on his right shoulder.

"Let's go get him and free Ramirez," said Aura softly as her pendant continued to glow. Mack immediately felt his anger and hatred vanish from Aura's touch.

"I'll keep watch in this area," said Simon.

"What about everyone else?" asked Mack as he stood up, "Where's Central, K-1, William and Xavier?"

"They're fine. Just a few minutes ago, all the Cipher agents vanished without a trace," explained Simon, "Everyone else is patrolling the corridors of this facility."

"Let's go get my brother," said Aura.

"You two had better be off. No telling what other tricks Dr. Newman has up his sleeves," warned Simon as Mack and Aura left the room, hand in hand. As they ran down the corridor, Mack could sense something peculiar: he could hear the thoughts of hundreds of people nearby.

"Are you hearing this, Aura?" asked Mack.

"Yes," replied Aura, "Maybe Cipher is holding all the missing citizens of Alakaz prisoner down here."

"After we deal with Namwen, let's free them," said Mack.

"Agreed," answered Aura, "I'd like to meet the REAL Mr. Allens." Meanwhile, Dr. Namwen was sitting at a computer terminal in the middle of a large, darkened room. The only sounds that could be heard were the humming of a giant machine, somewhere in the room and the rapid clicking from the keyboard as Dr. Namwen feverishly typed.

"Master Greevil will not be thrilled when he finds out what happened here," thought Dr. Namwen with uneasiness, "Time is precious now. I'll have to test Project Epsilon Mark II's new feature." As Dr. Namwen typed quickly, he could hear the quiet footsteps of Mack and Aura as they drew closer.

"There's no more time to remove any more bugs," thought Dr. Namwen as the lights in the room came on. Project Epsilon roared to life as the room shook.

"I am Epsilon," said a computerized voice, "Please input your command." Dr. Namwen kept his eyes glued to the computer screen as a map of Gardev and the surrounding land for 200 miles was displayed.

"Epsilon, show me all the traces of species number 280: Ralts," commanded Dr. Namwen. Moments later, thousands of blue dots appeared on the map. Shortly, a cluster of Ralts signatures less than 40 miles south of Gardev caught his attention.

"Could it be?" said Dr. Namwen with delight, "Epsilon! Show me all traces of species number 281: Kirlia!"

"Compliance," answered Epsilon as thousands of red dots appeared on the digital map. Dr. Namwen went wide-eyed as many of the dots appeared in the large cluster of Ralts signatures.

"This could be it! I'd better make absolutely sure of this. Master Greevil will surely spare me any punishment if I show him the location of the Gardevoir city," said Dr. Namwen as the footsteps of his pursuers got increasingly louder, "Epsilon! Show me all traces of species number 282: Gardevoir!!"

"Please wait," replied Epsilon. Seconds later, thousands of green dots appeared on the map. Dr. Namwen laughed maniacally when many of the dots appeared in the large cluster of Ralts and Kirlia.

"I've done it!" shouted Dr. Namwen as he hastily wrote the coordinates of the Pokémon cluster on a piece of notebook paper and put it in his lab coat pocket, "I wonder of there are any more of these legendary cities! Epsilon! Show me…!"

"Hold it right there!" shouted Mack as the door to the room was bent off its hinges and thrown to the opposite end of the room.

"No! Epsilon!" screamed Dr. Namwen, "Purge all data!"

"Warning, purging all data will make me useless until the next time the backup data is installed. Are you sure?" asked Epsilon as Mack and Aura walked towards Dr. Namwen.

"Yes! Purge all data!" screamed Dr. Namwen.

"Compliance. Farewell, Dr. Namwen," replied Epsilon as all the computer screens in the room went blank. Dr. Namwen faced Mack and Aura as they drew near.

"Where is my brother?!" demanded Aura as her right arm blazed with white light.

"No need to get defensive, Aura," said Dr. Namwen, "I'm not going to keep Ramirez from you."

"Then where is he? Bring him here at once," growled Mack. Dr. Namwen grinned and turned his head towards a closed door in the room.

"Ramirez?" called Dr. Namwen, "There is someone here to see you." Moments later, the door slowly opened. As the door opened, Mack and Aura saw dark energy flow across the floor like fog. Aura screamed as a black Gardevoir slowly walked through the doorway. Mack held Aura close as she trembled with fear and sadness.

"Allow me to reintroduce you to Ramirez, also known as XD002!" said Dr. Namwen triumphantly as he jumped behind Ramirez. Mack gazed at Ramirez and bowed his head with dismay when he saw the pendant around Ramirez's neck: the once beautiful, vibrant green emerald was now blacker than a moonless night. Dark power oozed from the pendant and spread outwards like water as it hit the floor.

"What have you done to him?" demanded Mack as his eyes glowed bright red.

"I'll be happy to explain!" replied Dr. Namwen with glee, "I learned of my brother's failed attempt to turn Aura into a shadow Pokémon and I came up with quite an idea. Instead of slowly increasing the level of dark power in the shadow chamber until the Pokémon finally gives in, I hit Ramirez with a full blast of it. Minutes later, he stepped out of the capsule with his skin and pendant as black as sin! My experiment was successful: I had turned one of the bloodline of the Guardians of Gardev into a shadow Pokémon! As an added bonus, the power of one of those pendants is now at my command. Like XD001, Ramirez is impossible to purify, given the immense concentration of darkness. Even your powers of light should be no match against XD002. I can even thank Aura's parents for their…help."

"That's why they were in so much pain…" sobbed Aura.

"Indeed," said Dr. Namwen, "Just hours before you freed them, I had tried once again to turn them into shadow Pokémon. Thanks to them, their dear son is now mine."

"Change him back!" snarled Mack as he took one step towards Dr. Namwen. Ramirez's head quickly turned to the side. Mack shuddered as Ramirez's black eyes gazed over him.

"I can't change him back," laughed Dr. Namwen, "It's virtually impossible. Even my worthless brother, Eric, knew that if a Pokémon was exposed to enough of the dark power, it would be exceedingly difficult to reverse the effects. There is a slight chance that Ramirez could be purified, but it would take years, considering the current technology that's available."

"This is cruel beyond belief…" growled Mack, "Not only have you traumatized Aura with your venomous words, but now you're going to make her fight her own brother?!"

"To be precise, die at the hands of her own brother," chuckled Dr. Namwen, "Ramirez, kindly give our guests a taste of your power." Ramirez thrust both his hands forward and fired a blast of darkness at Mack and Aura. Mack crossed his arms in front of himself and Aura braced herself as the dark blast hit their barriers and threw them against a nearby wall with incredible force. Mack slowly got to his feet. The dark blast had nearly broken through Mack's psychic barrier. Mack faced Aura, who was struggling to get up as the shield generator on her belt started smoking. Mack gazed over her.

"The shield generator is toast and that blast also weakened Aura," thought Mack with fear, "It probably took everything she had to defend herself from that dark blast."

"As you can see, you're no match for Ramirez, or should I say XD002?" laughed Dr. Namwen, "Ramirez, finish her." Again, Ramirez thrust his arms forward. As Ramirez focused his dark power, Mack jumped between him and Aura. Aura looked up as Ramirez unleashed another dark blast upon Mack.

"NOOOOOO!! MACK!!" screamed Aura with anguish as the blast hit him. Strangely, the blast had not moved Mack an inch. He slowly faced Aura.

"Its okay, Aura," said Mack quietly, "Ramirez can't hurt us with his dark power." Dr. Namwen went slack-jawed at this sight. Mack had not even tried to defend himself, but Ramirez's wrath had not even fazed Mack.

"How can this be?" asked a dumbfounded Dr. Namwen. Mack faced the demented scientist as Ramirez ceased his attack.

"Aura and I now share the power of light. The blackest darkness can't hurt us," said Mack with resolve, "Your greatest triumph, XD002, cannot defeat us." Before Dr. Namwen could react, Mack thrust his hand forward and fired a beam of pure, white light into the scientist. Dr. Namwen screamed as the dark aura around him started to dissolve.

"This isn't over yet!" shouted Dr. Namwen, "Ramirez is hardly my greatest triumph! I have everything I need to complete Project Omega and nothing will stop me! Not even you and your horrid friend!"

"Spare us the gibbering," grumbled Mack, "And just give in already."

"I will complete my masterpiece!" said Dr. Namwen defiantly as he faced Aura, "I saw your future minutes before you came in! I thought I could destroy you with Ramirez! Instead, you will have a happy ending with the mate of your choice! You had better enjoy your honeymoon, for hell awaits you when I return! In the meantime, I'll return the city of Alakaz to you. Cipher will never need this terrible place again. Farewell!" Suddenly, Dr. Namwen vanished from sight. Mack quickly ran over to Aura's side and helped her to her feet.

"He teleported away…We were so close…" said Mack with frustration.

"Dr. Namwen escaped," said Aura softly, "But now Alakaz is safe and we have Ramirez again." Mack gazed at Ramirez as he stood completely still. Mack could not sense anything in Ramirez; he didn't even seem to be alive. Aura ran up and put her arms around her brother, but shrieked and jumped away. Every place on Aura's body that had come in contact with Ramirez had turned black.

"He has so much dark power in him, we can't even touch him," remarked Mack as Aura's body returned to its normal colors. Aura called Ramirez's name several times, but Ramirez didn't even flinch.

"He can't hear me…" sighed Aura.

"Without Namwen, he's like a puppet without strings," said Mack as his attention turned to the thoughts of the imprisoned townspeople. Mack ran out of the room down the corridors and Aura followed him until they stopped at a giant, thick metal door.

"Will we have to break this door, too?" asked Aura. Mack grinned and said, "They probably weren't expecting anyone to come down here but other Cipher personnel." Mack pressed a black button next to the door and it opened with a hiss. The people behind the door looked on with disbelief as they saw the two Gardevoir.

"What are they doing here?" asked one person.

"Are we…free?" asked another. Moments later, a man in a fancy suit walked towards the two Gardevoir.

"Who are you?" asked the man.

"I'm Mack and this is Aura," replied Mack.

"I'm John Allens, the mayor if this city," said John as he shook Mack's hand, "Have you come to free us?"

"Yes," answered Mack, "With some help, we've kicked Cipher out of Alakaz. You won't have to worry about them anymore."

"We can go?" asked a young woman.

"Yes. Head for the surface," said Mack with a smile, "No one is going to stop you." The people in the room soon walked out of the large prison and headed back to the city surface while John stayed with Mack and Aura. John gazed at Aura and soon noticed the pendant.

"You're the Guardian of Gardev, aren't you?!" asked John with disbelief.

"Yes I am," said Aura softly. John smiled at Aura and Mack.

"I don't know how to thank you," said John.

"You don't have to, either," replied Mack.

"If that is the way you want it, I respect that," said John, "Will you accompany me back to my hotel? I better check on Bobby and make sure he's okay."

"You're the mayor and the owner of the fanciest hotel in Alakaz?" asked a surprised Mack.

"Yep!" replied John as he glanced at Mack and Aura, "And is Aura your mate?"

"No…" said Mack with hesitation.

"Not yet?" asked John.

"I'm not sure," replied Mack.

"I'm surprised that you aren't," said John with a shrug, "Both of you must have had to work together a lot in order to scare Cipher away." A few days later, more police and detectives descended on Alakaz. The giant machine known as Project Epsilon Mark II was dismantled and melted down, never to be used again. The citizens of Alakaz returned to their normal lives, thankful that someone had selflessly come to their rescue. Rumors soon spread of the possible romance between Mack and Aura, the Guardian of Gardev. As Mack, Aura, Xavier, Simon, Central, K-1 and William boarded the S-5, thousands of people gathered to say goodbye.

"Have you heard the latest?" asked William as he sat on a control panel in the cockpit of the S-5, "Everyone in town thinks you and Aura would be a perfect match!"

"I'm not interested…" grumbled Mack as he brushed William off the control console. Aura glanced at Mack.

"Would you want me to be your mate?" asked Aura.

"Let's talk about it when we get back to Gardev," answered Mack softly. As the S-5 took off, the crowd cheered for their heroes.

"Wait until those little ones hear about this," said Simon with a grin as he gazed at the crowd through a window in the cargo hold.

"Li, Sakura, Anna and Fredrick will certainly want to hear this story," said Xavier, "And then they'll be mad at us for not letting them come."

"There is a 99.9 chance of that being the case," said Central as she sat down on the floor, "I'm going to greatly enjoy being back with my processing array. The lack of quantitative power in this armor is making me…uneasy."

"Don't forget that we need to run another DNA scan on Mack," said K-1, "I'd rather not find any more unwanted surprises."


	12. Section 12

**-31-**

Less than an hour later, the S-5 descended back into Mack's hidden laboratory. Central returned the armor to its hidden location and minutes later, she was analyzing Mack's DNA structure once again. Mack carefully pushed a capsule into the lab. Aura gazed at her dark brother as he stood, motionlessly. Glacian, Alexander, Warren, Jake and Aurora were also in the large room of the lab.

"My son…" said Alexander with sadness while Aurora cried on his shoulder.

"It is as I have foreseen…" said Glacian with despair, "My great-great grandson is lost…"

"I beg to differ!" growled Mack as he wheeled Ramirez near the cell regenerator.

"How are you going to help him?" asked Alexander.

"Well, since Aura and I can purify shadow Pokémon with our powers of light, the same thing should work on Ramirez, but it could take months until he's purged of all the dark power."

"Is the pendant permanently corrupted?" asked Glacian.

"I don't think so," said Mack as he placed his FIW-59A pistol on a nearby table, "It should purify itself as time passes. The pendant is only supposed to be used for good purposes anyway."

"What are you doing now?" asked Aura as Mack started to take his trusty pistol apart.

"Well, since you and I can't possible shower Ramirez with pure light for a few months, we'll have to try a different method," said Mack as he removed a small box from the pistol, "This is an Elemental Synthesizer. I discovered it by accident one day during an experiment back at my home."

"You see," explained K-1 while Mack tinkered with the FIW-59A, "Mack was experimenting with something called Crystallic Fusion; therefore, he made a gigantic, flawless diamond, set it in a specialized machine and tried to generate electricity with it. There was a sustained, stable reaction for about three seconds when the crystal unexpectedly detonated. When Mack awoke, he found that the diamond had been blown into 8, equal-sized chards. Each piece had landed near an object that gave off a specific element: one shard landed on a lit Bunsen burner and turned red, for fire. Another shard bounced off Mack's head and picked up psychic qualities as it turned orange. Well, you get the idea. Each shard was charged with energy of another element: Water, Fire, Air, Earth, Psychic, Light, Darkness and the cosmic energy we simply call Star. Mack later discovered that by running crude electricity through any crystal, it would give off the pure form of that energy."

"Indeed, K-1," said Mack as he pulled a small, white, glowing crystal from the small box, "With a few minor modifications, we can shower Ramirez with light. That should restore him, eventually." As Aura used telekinesis to lift Ramirez into the cell regenerator, Mack inserted the crystal in the large machine. As soon as Ramirez was in place, Mack closed the door and turned it on. As the capsule of the cell regenerator filled with bright light, Ramirez's left arm twitched a few times.

"How long will this take?" asked Aurora as she dried her eyes.

"Only time will tell," sighed Mack, "It could take a few days to a few months."

"But, Mack, your pistol won't work now," said a concerned Aura.

"Ramirez is worth it," replied Mack with determination, "There is no way I'm going to leave your brother like this."

"I leave Ramirez in your charge then," said Glacian as he started to leave the room, "We should go now. Mack and Aura have some things they need to discuss." Later, after everyone but K-1, Simon and Aura had left the lab for the evening, Mack sat on the floor, straining and gritting his teeth as he tried to turn back into his fox-like form.

"It's no use…" grumbled Mack as he panted from exhaustion, "I can't turn back."

"Central forecasted that this would be the case," said K-1.

"Now what will I do? I can't go home like this," said Mack with despair as he gazed at his Gardevoir body and ran his fingers over his soft, white skirt, "The future does not look good at all." Aura stepped forward with hesitation.

"You could have a future here, in Gardev, while your friends find a cure," suggested Aura as she blushed.

"A cure is possible, but it will take over a century for Central to find a cure that doesn't have the chance of side effects," said K-1 with a sigh. Aura walked to Mack and held his right hand.

"Mack…" said Aura softly as her eyes misted over, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you to be my mate." Aura wrapped her arms around Mack.

"Aura…" said Mack quietly.

"I love you…" said Aura as she cried. Mack slowly removed Aura's arms from himself.

"I need more time to think, Aura," said Mack. Aura dried her eyes and gazed at Mack.

"When will I know?" asked Aura with sadness.

"Tonight," answered Mack, "I'll meet you on Warren's balcony."

"Okay…" said Aura as she started to leave the room.

"I'll take you home," said Simon as he walked beside Aura out of the room. The door closed behind them with a loud clank, leaving Mack alone with K-1 and Central.

"What do you think?" asked K-1, "It is your decision."

"I don't think I can do this," said Mack with frustration, "I'm not really a Gardevoir. I'll tell Aura how I feel. She'll understand." K-1 hung his head with despair as he walked towards Central's main control console.

"She'll be heartbroken," said K-1, "As will you."

"I've made up my mind," said Mack sternly as he stood up, "I'm not really a Gardevoir."

"Scan complete," said Central.

"Please give me the hard copy," asked K-1 as the results were printed nearby. K-1 extended an arm from his chest compartment, tore the paper from the printer and quickly read the results.

"Mack," said K-1 as he gazed over the readings, "I think you made up your mind too soon."

"What do you mean?" asked a depressed Mack as he walked alongside K-1.

"According to this, you are a full-blooded Gardevoir," said K-1 as he handed the paper to Mack, "Your DNA structure completely matches that of an average Gardevoir, give or take a few differences."

"So that's it?" asked Mack. K-1 put his hand on Mack's shoulder.

"I know you'll be happy with Aura for years to come, Mack. Have I ever been wrong?" asked K-1.

"Well, there was that one time you put engine grease in my chocolate milk," replied Mack. K-1 faced Mack and laughed.

"Either way, there is a loving Gardevoir who wants to be with you forever," said K-1 with a smirk, "Go get her, tiger!"

"Whatever, K-1!" laughed Mack as he ran for the elevator, "I'll be back later!" As the elevator ascended to the surface, K-1 and Central conversed about the recent events.

"This Dr. Namwen character is proving to be more dangerous than Eric let on," said a worried K-1.

"Project Epsilon was dismantled and destroyed, Alakaz is free from Cipher's clutches and Ramirez has been recovered," said Central, "The people of Alakaz are working to make better use of the underground facilities as well."

"Plus, there is a wedding coming up," said K-1 with delight.

"Indeed," said Central, "Therefore, I don't want to hear anymore about unpleasant matters. I hope you'll be there with one of my cameras. I don't want to miss such a wonderful occasion."

"I will, Central. I will," replied K-1.

**-32-**

Some time later, Aura stood on the balcony of Warren's home in tears. She glanced at the driveway as Mack walked towards the house. She couldn't stop thinking about Mack and worried about what would happen if he didn't really want to be her life-long mate.

"Here it comes…" thought Aura with anxiety. She could hear Mack as he walked down the hallway to her room. Mack soon stopped behind Aura.

"What have you decided?" asked Aura as she trembled with fear.

"I've decided that I don't want to spend the rest of my life alone," said Mack.

"There are great responsibilities as a guardian, Mack," said Aura.

"I know that," said Mack, "And I will fulfill them."

"But, I thought you didn't want to marry me because you're not really a Gardevoir," said Aura, "I understand…"

"That's not the case anymore. According to K-1 and Central, I'm now a full-blooded Gardevoir. There is nothing standing between us," said Mack as he knelt on one knee before Aura, "And that is why I want to know something…" Aura went wide-eyed as Mack stroked her fingers.

"Aura, will you marry me?" asked Mack. Aura blushed deeply.

"Yes…" said Aura bashfully and with happiness, "I will." Mack stood back up as they embraced each other. As they held each other, off in the distance, Warren, Glacian, Alexander and Aurora looked on.

"Young love…" sighed Aurora happily with her arms around Alexander.

"I remember the last time a few Gardevoir got engaged on that balcony," said Warren with a smile.

"How could I forget?" laughed Alexander as he stroked Aurora, "It was me and Aurora on that wonderful evening."

"Let's go greet the lovers, shall we?" said Glacian as they quietly walked back to the house. Back on the balcony, Mack whispered into Aura's ear, "Aura?"

"Yes, Mack?" asked Aura gently.

"I think you can give me my present now," said Mack with a smile. Aura released Mack from her embrace and quickly ran back into her room. Moments later, she walked back onto the balcony with the sapphire pendant in her right hand.

"Let's see how it looks," said Aura blissfully as she walked behind Mack and slowly put the gleaming pendant around his neck.

"How do I look?" asked Mack as Aura walked back around him. Aura stared into the deep blue pendant as it shimmered in the moonlight.

"Perfect," said Aura quietly as she and Mack tightly wrapped their arms around each other.

"Congratulations!" said Xavier as he popped his head around a corner.

"Xavier! Have you been watching us the whole time?" asked Mack with nervous laughter.

"He's not the only one," said William from behind Mack. The lovers quickly turned towards Aura's room and saw Warren, Jake, Glacian, Alexander, Aurora, Sakura the Kirlia, Fredrick, Anna, Li, Simon and William. Mack blushed, looked into Aura's eyes and hugged her tightly.

"Yay!" said Anna happily, "I'm going to have another big brother!"

"Well, looks like your future is a bright one after all, isn't Dr. Foxx?" asked Glacian.

"Like I said before Mack, you have my permission and my blessing if you choose to marry my daughter," said Alexander.

"I can't wait until the wedding!" said Aurora with excitement.

"A wedding…" said Mack, "That will be quite nice indeed."

"Would you like a simple wedding or a big one?" asked Warren.

"Let's have a big wedding," replied Mack as he stared into Aura's eyes, "Can we invite all of Gardev?"

"Not a problem," answered Warren with a smile, "I think we can have all the preparations done within a week."

"I never thought you would want to stick around here," laughed Jake, "It's going to be nice having you in Gardev."

"Oh, I know the perfect dresses for this!" said Aurora with delight.

"Very well," said Glacian as he faced Mack and Aura, "I will marry you in one week. Mack, it is Gardevoir tradition that the bride and groom not see each other again until their wedding day."

"Very well," said Mack as he held Aura one last time.

"I can't wait…" said Aura softly in Mack's ear.

"We have so much to do!" said Warren with delight.

"Like, who does what jobs?" asked William. Mack looked around the room.

"Simon, will you be the best man?" asked Mack.

"As you wish," replied Simon.

"I'll tend to Aura," said Aurora with excitement.

"I will help Mack," said Alexander.

"Can I be the flower girl?" asked Sakura bashfully.

"No!" snapped Anna, "I want to be the flower girl!"

"Now, now," giggled Aura, "You can both be flower girls."

"Alright!" said Anna with excitement.

"Thank you very much," said Sakura with a graceful bow. Mack picked up William from the floor and stroked his good friend.

"You can be the ring-bearer, little buddy," said Mack.

"You got it!" said William as he squeaked with delight.

"Me and Jake can handle anything else," said Warren.

"Then its settled," said Glacian, "The wedding will take place at the town chapel one week from today. Mack, Aura; it's time you said goodbye for now." Mack held Aura tightly.

"See you in a week, my love," said Mack sweetly.

"See you then, handsome," replied Aura. Some time later, Mack, William, Xavier, Simon and Alexander left Warren's home. They all talked about what was going to happen in the coming week. While they walked towards Mack's lab, Mack held the pendant in his hand near his face and stared at his reflection. He seemed to not hear anything that his friends were discussing. He only thought about Aura and was praying the next week would go by quickly.

**-33-**

Elsewhere, Dr. Namwen walked down a hallway of another hidden facility, grumbling about his bad luck and his failures back at Alakaz. Master Greevil, the leader of Cipher walked alongside him.

"It appears that some of Cecil's bad karma has rubbed off on you, Dr. Namwen," said Greevil.

"Don't remind me!" snarled Dr. Namwen.

"I would watch your temper if I were you," warned Greevil as his tall bodyguards trailed him and Dr. Namwen, "The only reason I'm not shutting down your remaining projects is because of how promising your research has been. Not to mention the…present you had for me."

"XD002?" asked Dr. Namwen.

"Yes, that's the one," said Greevil cheerfully, "It would be a perfect companion in battle with XD001."

"Sadly, XD002 was stolen, but I should be able to get him back," said Dr. Namwen.

"How do you plan to do that?" asked Greevil.

"I'm not sure, but I still have the alien's technology at my disposal. I should be able to home in on XD002's dark signature with the right machinery," replied Dr. Namwen.

"Of course, you also have a sample of the alien's blood, correct?" asked Greevil with curiosity.

"Sort of," answered Dr. Namwen, "Upon closer analysis, I discovered that his DNA now matched that of the Gardevoir species."

"So, the alien mercenary turned into a Gardevoir?!" asked Greevil with shock.

"Yes. Considering Cecil's reports and my studies, the fusion and separation of Dr. Foxx with the Guardian of Gardev has yielded plenty of interesting results. Project Epsilon is lost, but now, Project Omega can begin," said Dr. Namwen.

"And what is this new invention of yours going to do?" asked Greevil with anticipation.

"I'm sorry, Master," replied Dr. Namwen, "You know that I want to surprise you."

"Of course, my friend, of course," chuckled Greevil, "And what of the Gardevoir City? Did you finally find it?"

"Project Epsilon gave me a hunch," said Dr. Namwen with evil laughter, "Once Project Omega is launched, the Gardevoir city will be ours! Thousands of Ralts, Kirlia and Gardevoir will be eager to 'Volunteer' in our new Pokémon army."

"Just like the samurai wanted eons ago," said Greevil with a grin, "Is there anything else you'll need for Project Omega besides money and manpower?"

"Just a test subject," said Dr. Namwen, "And I've already got one in mind."

**-34-**

Back at the lab, Eric was tinkering with Central's primary control console.

"I still can't find that jammed switch," grumbled Eric.

"Your getting closer, Eric," said Central. Eric and Central became silent as they heard the elevator descend into the lab. As the door opened, they could hear Mack humming to himself as he entered the room. Eric was shocked as he noticed the sapphire pendant around Mack's neck.

"You…you actually…" stammered Eric.

"Yes," answered Mack happily as he twirled about the room, "I proposed to Aura and she said yes! Not that it was a big surprise. As soon as I started to become a Gardevoir, I've wanted to ask her. I could tell from her thoughts that she wanted to spend her life with me."

"Well," said Central, "What will we do in the meantime?"

"I've got a wedding to prepare for," said Mack as he faced Eric, "I could use a photographer. Are you good at taking pictures by any chance?"

"Well, I was a photographer for a few years, so, sure!" replied Eric, "I was afraid I wouldn't get to do anything in the wedding besides be spectator."

"Will you need some proper attire, Mack?" asked Central.

"Not needed, but thank you for asking," replied Mack, "Alexander and Aurora said they would find something nice for me. It'll be ready on my wedding day."

"Very well, sir," said Central.

"That reminds me, would you like to come to my wedding, Central?" asked Mack.

"I appreciate the offer, but no," replied Central with embarrassment, "I would have to come in the S-100F and I don't think there would be a dress that would look nice on me."

"Good point!" laughed Mack.

"Besides, K-1 has already offered to let me watch the wedding via a wireless camera. After all, someone has to keep an eye on the lab and Ramirez," said Central.

"Thank you, Central," said Mack.

"It's my pleasure to serve you," said Central.

"Well, I'm off to bed," yawned Mack.

"Good night, Mack," said Central and Eric in unison.

"Good night," said Mack as he left the room and started for his bedroom. Mack smiled, knowing that soon, he would no longer spend his nights alone.


	13. Section 13

**-35-**

The week before the wedding seemed to go by quickly, much to Mack and Aura's delight. As the morning sun rose on their wedding day, the final preparations began. Warren had the small town decorated while Jake took care of the banquet. Before long, people and Pokémon alike were streaming into the cathedral-sized chapel. In the back rooms, Alexander and Aurora helped Mack and Aura get ready for the big day. Aurora was helping Aura into her wedding dress. As Aura slipped on the dress, her mother picked up and folded her Gardevoir gown.

"You've really outdone yourself," said Aura with a smile as she put on the satin, long-sleeved dress, "It's so soft and comfortable."

"Not to mention decorative," laughed Aurora as she carefully zipped up the dress and straighten the puffed sleeves, "Look at all these inlaid designs. I had to search high and low in the Gardevoir city for the last week to find such an absolutely stunning dress."

"I love how full and fluffy the skirt is," remarked Aura with glee, "Oh, I can't wait until Mack sees me!" Aura twirled around as the tulle petticoats under her skirt rustled softly.

"You think you look wonderful now, we haven't even taken care of your jewelry or hair yet!" giggled Aurora. In another room in the chapel, Mack groaned at his wedding…attire as he gazed in a mirror.

"Such a thing might be strange to you," said Alexander as he tried to reassure Mack, "Just think of it as the gowns that we Gardevoir normally wear, except that this one is more…ornate and elegant, especially for a day like this."

"If you insist," said Mack as he gazed at himself in the mirror. The ornate satin, white dress with its big, shimmering, fluffy skirt and long sleeves just didn't seem right to him.

"You look like a million dollars, Mack," said Alexander as he looked Mack over.

"But does it have to be a dress?" asked Mack with despair.

"Please," laughed Alexander, "There are no tuxedos that would look good on you, considering your body shape. Besides, you look elegant and downright wonderful. Just like I did the day I married Aurora."

"Okay," said Mack as he tried to have some fun, "Where's my tiara, bouquet and lace garter?" Alexander laughed.

"Aura will be dealing with those as I walk her down the aisle," said Alexander with some laughter, "The female wears the tiara, the garter and holds the bouquet. I honestly have no idea how your species does weddings in your hometown."

"Haven't you ever seen humans get married?" asked Mack as Alexander bent down and checked the edges of the thick, fluffy tulle petticoats under Mack's skirt.

"Can't say I have," said Alexander as he finished checking the dress, "Is it uncomfortable?"

"No," said Mack as he ran his fingers along his big, soft skirt, "It fits well. I just wonder how Aura will react when she sees me. It's been a week now since we last saw each other."

"You'll knock her dead," said Alexander.

"I hope not…" said Mack jokingly, "When I said I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, I hoped it would be longer than a few seconds." Alexander erupted with laugher.

"I guess you're feeling better about your dress," said Alexander as he folded up Mack's Gardevoir gown, "That's good, but even if you're still nervous, listen to this…"

"Okay," said Mack with a smile as he thought about what Aura might look like.

"…When you see Aura walking down the aisle in her beautiful dress and jewelry, when you gaze into her enchanting eyes and when she smiles at you, nothing else around you will matter," said Alexander blissfully.

"How would you know?" asked Mack with curiosity as he stepped down and away from the mirrors.

"That's how I felt when I saw Aurora walk down the aisle in all of her splendor 25 years ago," said Alexander with a smile as he sat down in a nearby chair.

"Is Aura's dress more elegant than mine?" asked Mack.

"Aura will be more beautiful than anything you've ever seen, but yes, her dress is much more ornate. That's the tradition anyway, but no matter what, you and Aura will have the time of your lives," said Alexander, "The best part is, it will last until the end of your days." Moments later, there was a knock on the door. Alexander opened the door. Fredrick walked into the room and gazed at Mack.

"Wow!" said Fredrick with amazement, "Wait until Aura sees you like this!"

"Speaking of which, its time you got into your wedding clothes as well," said Alexander.

"I almost wish I got to wear something like Mack's dress," said Fredrick as he looked Mack over.

"You will if you find a mate someday," chuckled Alexander as he pulled a box off a nearby shelf and handed it to his son.

"Is that for me?" asked Fredrick as he opened the box and found a simple white dress in it.

"Yes," said Alexander, "It's just for a day like this. Aurora thought it would look good on a Kirlia like you." Fredrick removed the dress from the box and marveled at its small, fluffy skirt.

"I'll go change right away! I wonder if Sakura will like this!" said Fredrick happily as he started to leave the room.

"Have Aurora help you put it on!" said Alexander down the hallway. Elsewhere, other people and Pokémon were getting ready for the wedding, too. Simon stood alone in a room, on a stool, as a group of Gardevoir seamstresses hastily sewed a dark blue, pinstripe suit over him.

"He sure is cute," giggled one Gardevoir.

"I think he's single too," whispered another Gardevoir with glee.

"If only he was a Gardevoir…" sighed another Gardevoir seamstress blissfully.

"Help me…" thought Simon nervously as the Gardevoir seamstresses continued their work.

"I wonder what he's thinking," said another Gardevoir.

"Oh, bother…" thought Simon, "Putting up the mental barrier, now."

"Putting up the mental barrier now?" asked a Gardevoir.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked another Gardevoir.

"Hey!" complained yet another Gardevoir, "I can't read him anymore!"

"What am I?" asked Simon with sarcasm, "A book?" Suddenly, William ran into the room.

"Has anyone seen Anna lately?" asked William as he panted with exhaustion.

"Why do you ask?" asked Simon as he noticed that someone had wrapped a big, pink bow and ribbon around William's neck.

"Anna's after me!" gulped William, "She wants to make me look…cuter!"

"Nothing wrong with that," giggled one of the Gardevoir as she gently stroked William's back. William noticed that Simon's suit was almost done.

"Looking pretty sharp!" said William with a grin. Simon grinned back at him as his claws gleamed in the sunlight.

"Sharp, eh? That could work," said Simon in a sinister tone. William's ears perked up as he heard some familiar, soft footsteps coming closer to the room.

"William? Where are you?" called Anna.

"Gotta bolt!" said William quietly as he took off out of the room like a shot. William glanced back and forth in the hallway and ran to a closed door. As the door opened, William jumped into the room and shrieked when he saw a Gardevoir in a shimmering wedding dress.

"Gah! Sorry for breaking in on you, Aura!" stammered William with embarrassment.

"Aura?" asked Mack, "What did Anna feed you for breakfast?" William took a closer look at Mack.

"Looking rather cute, Mack," said William with a grin on his face.

"I hope Aura thinks so," said Mack blissfully as Anna's voice echoed down the hallway.

"William?! Where are you?!" demanded Anna as she ran down the hallway, "I have the cutest dress for you!"

"Oh, no!" grumbled William with despair, "Hide me, Mack!" Mack and Alexander glanced around the room, but there didn't seem to be a place for William to seek refuge.

"You also need some makeup!" shouted Anna as she came closer to the room. William gulped and looked at Mack.

"Sorry, Mack!" said William as he jumped under Mack's skirt and out of sight. Mack could feel William trembling with fear as Anna peaked into the room.

"Wow! You look nice!" said Anna as she gazed at Mack.

"Is that what you think?" asked Mack as he twirled in place while the dress shimmered in the light, "I hope Aura thinks so too!" Anna was wearing a white dress with puffed sleeves, small red ribbons on her wrists and one large red bow on the back of her fluffy skirt.

"Is Sakura dressed up, too?" asked Alexander.

"Yep!" said Anna happily, "Aurora got two of these outfits!"

"Aurora really knows how to pick out nice clothes," laughed Alexander as he glanced at his younger daughter.

"I know you and Sakura will do your job well," said Mack with a smile.

"Yeah," said Anna as she glanced around the room, "Have you guys seen that escape artist? You know, William?"

"Can't say I have," said Mack as Anna's eyes fell on Mack's fluffy skirt.

"Is he under here?" asked Anna as she reached for the edge of Mack's skirt. Alexander quickly reached forward, put his hands under Anna's arms and pulled her away from Mack.

"Now, now," said Alexander sternly, "That's not proper, understood?"

"Okay," said Anna, "I'm sorry." Alexander laughed and set Anna back on her feet.

"Now, you run along and catch that Pikachu for us, okay?" asked Alexander with a smile.

"You got it, Dad!" said Anna as she ran out of the room and down the hallway. William poked his head out from under the thick petticoats.

"Is…is she gone now?" asked William.

"For now," said Mack as he knelt and took William up in his arms, "I think that bow suits you for this day."

"Well," snorted William as he squirmed in Mack's satin sleeves, "If I look good in this horrid bow, than you look good in that dress!"

"I hope so…" said Mack as he twirled around, blissfully with William in his arms, "I can't wait for Aura to see."

"Hold it there," said Alexander as he stepped towards Mack. Mack stopped twirling as Alexander stood behind him.

"We almost forgot the most important thing for the groom to wear," said Alexander as he put the sapphire pendant around Mack's neck. Warren suddenly poked his head into the room.

"Are you all set?" asked Warren, "We're almost ready to begin." Warren glanced at Mack.

"Well! You look a lot like Alexander did on his wedding day," remarked Warren, "Are you both ready?" Mack and Alexander faced each other.

"Are you ready for this?" asked Alexander.

"Yes," said Mack with a smile.

"Then William can hold onto these for now," said Alexander as he tied two gold rings around William's ribbon, "I'll see you two in the sanctuary. I'd better get dressed too." Mack smiled and walked down the hallway with one hand holding his skirt. He walked down the aisle and found his friends and the people of Gardev waiting for him. As he walked towards the altar, Mack heard people talking to each other, the rustling of his petticoats and the clicking of a camera's shutter as Eric took pictures. Mack walked alongside Simon and set William on the floor on Simon's left side. Glacian gazed at Mack and nodded his head. Glacian had opted just to wear his Gardevoir gown.

"How come you aren't all dressed up, Glacian?" asked Mack with curiosity.

"If my mate was still here, I would have been dressed up, just for her," said Glacian as he bowed his head with sadness.

"Sorry…" said Mack, "I didn't mean to bring up anything painful."

"It's okay," said Glacian, "My mate was named Gloria. I remember when we were married in this very chapel almost a century ago. It was a week after I had chosen her as my mate."

"What happened to her? Want to talk about it?" asked Mack. Glacian smiled at Mack.

"I'll tell you another time," said Glacian, "I don't want to bring up anything sad on this grand day. I'm about to marry my beautiful great-great granddaughter to you Mack. I suggest that you prepare yourself." Mack noticed Aurora as she sat the front row: she was also wearing an ornate wedding dress and jewelry. Aurora smiled at Mack as the gemstones on her tiara sparkled in the light.

"You think I look nice, just wait until you see Aura!" whispered Aurora with happiness. Mack seemed to be a bit confused at this sight. Glacian laughed softly.

"Its Gardevoir tradition for the parents of the bride and groom to wear their original wedding attire on the day one of their children gets married," explained a smiling Glacian. Mack also noticed that Fredrick was sitting on the left side of his mother in his new, white dress.

"Do I look nice?" asked Fredrick.

"You like very nice, Fredrick," said Aurora as she kissed her son.

"Indeed," whispered Mack. Fredrick smiled.

"I hope Sakura sees me!" said Fredrick quietly as he laughed to himself. Glacian and Mack faced each other.

"You seem ready," said Glacian, "Are you sure you want to go through with this? If you are the least bit doubtful, then you should not marry Aura."

"I'm ready," replied Mack quietly.

"Then let us begin," said Glacian. Warren sat in one of the front rows with Li and Fredrick while Xavier poked his head through an open window. Mack laughed at Xavier, knowing that there was no way the giant bird could have fit into the chapel. Jake sat behind the keyboard of an organ and started to play some light music. Mack watched as Sakura and Anna happily walked down the aisle, carrying baskets and scattering white rose petals as they slowly came towards the altar in their identical dresses.

"You two look nice," whispered Mack. Sakura and Anna smiled at Mack and nodded their heads. As Sakura and Anna sat down, Mack and everyone in the sanctuary faced the doors at the back of the chapel. Mack felt like he was going to faint from all the excitement and anticipation. At the organ, Jake flipped to a different page in his songbook. The room became silent. Mack could hear everyone breathing as the bright sunlight outside shone through the colorful stain glass windows. Jake started to play the wedding march as the doors opened wide. Mack stared on with awe as Aura slowly walked down the aisle, holding a bouquet of white roses, with Alexander at her side. Alexander walked down the aisle in a wedding dress much like Mack's with an arm wrapped around Aura. Mack marveled at Aura. The decorated bodice and puffed sleeves of her dress sparkled from the bright sun; her large, fluffy skirt shimmered brightly in the light. A large, white bow on the back of her dress bobbed slightly as she stepped forward. Her white, lace headdress seemed to flow as she slowly walked towards the altar. Mack could hear the petticoats under Aura's skirt rustle with each step she took. Mack gazed at Aura's jewelry; the diamonds on her earrings, tiara and on her bracelets sparkled in brilliant colors from the bright sunlight as it came through the stain glass windows. As Aura smiled at him, Mack almost thought he was in a dream and he did not want it to end. Alexander and Aura stopped a few feet in front of the altar as Glacian walked towards the pulpit.

"Who gives this female Gardevoir," said Glacian as he faced Mack, "To this male Gardevoir?"

"I do," said Alexander with a smile as he passed Aura's right hand to Mack. Aura then handed her bouquet of white roses to her mother, Aurora. Alexander sat down next to Aurora and they held each other tightly while they gazed at Mack and their daughter. Mack smiled and stared into Aura's eyes as she stepped up to the altar. Aura blushed deeply as she held Mack's hands in her own.

"You look absolutely gorgeous," said Mack with amazement.

"You too, Mack," whispered Aura blissfully as they faced Glacian.

"Dearly beloved," started Glacian, "We are gathered here on this joyous day; to witness Mack and Aura as they enter into holy wedlock."

"They look so cute together," giggled Anna.

"Makes me wonder what our weddings might be like," giggled Sakura as Glacian faced the congregation.

"Before we begin, if anyone has any reason why these two should not be wed, than speak now or forever hold your peace!" shouted Glacian. The congregation went silent.

"Only an idiot wouldn't want them to be married!" shouted Anna as the congregation erupted with laugher. Alexander stood up, picked up Anna and sat back down in the pew with Anna in his lap. Sakura followed and sat at the end of the pew as Alexander, Fredrick and Aurora slid down to make room for her.

"You need to be quiet now," said Alexander softly. Anna glanced at Alexander and Aurora as the congregation quieted down.

"You and mommy sure look pretty," whispered Anna happily as she gazed at her parents' wedding attire.

"I know," said Alexander quietly as he held his younger daughter close, "Now watch as Mack and Aura become mates. Someday, you may get to have a wedding too." Aurora put an arm around Alexander as she kissed Anna. Glacian glanced at Anna and laughed to himself as he faced Mack.

"You and Aura are about to make your vows, which must not be taken lightly," explained Glacian firmly, "But for you, Mack, you will also be entering into the mantel of guardianship over the town of Gardev. By taking Aura's hand in marriage and by accepting the sapphire pendant, you vow that you will protect Gardev until the day you and Aura pass on your duties. You must also protect your mate for the rest of your days."

"I understand," said Mack with determination.

"And," said Glacian, "Since you are marrying the Guardian of Gardev, it will be your responsibility to continue the bloodline of the guardians through Aura. Do you understand what this means?"

"I understand and accept these responsibilities," answered Mack as he gazed into Aura's eyes. Aura blushed deeply and winked at Mack.

"Having accepted the duties of a Guardian of Gardev, you may now exchange your vows with the bride," said Glacian as he faced Mack, "Dr. Mack Foxx, do you take Aura to be your wedded mate, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health 'til death do you part?" Mack glanced at Aura and smiled.

"I do," responded Mack as he stroked Aura's hands with his thumbs. Glacian faced Aura.

"Aura, my dear great-great granddaughter, do you take Mack to be your wedded mate, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, 'til death do you part?" asked Glacian.

"I do!" shouted Aura with happiness. Mack laughed quietly to himself as the congregation broke into laughter.

"Do you have the rings?" asked Glacian as the people quieted down. William walked up to Mack and squeaked happily at him.

"William sure is cute," giggled Sakura as she glanced at Fredrick.

"He would have been cuter with makeup and a frilly dress," complained Anna quietly. Mack knelt down and took the rings off William's ribbon.

"Mack…" warned William quietly, "If your children treat me like a plush toy, I'll have your head!" Mack looked back and forth as Anna and William glared at each other. Aura couldn't help but laugh. Mack handed Aura one of the rings. He then knelt down and slowly slid his ring over Aura's finger.

"With this ring, I thee wed," said Mack. Aura blushed as Mack stood back up. Aura knelt, held Mack's hand and slowly slid the ring over his finger.

"With this ring, I thee wed," said Aura gently. Aura stood back up and she held Mack's hands in hers.

"With the exchanging of vows, the exchange of rings and Mack's acceptance of his duties as Guardian of Gardev I now pronounce you two, mates," said Glacian as Mack and Aura smiled and blushed at each other.

"You may now kiss the bride," said Glacian as Mack and Aura stepped towards each other, wrapped their arms around each other and kissed for the first time. As Mack's lips touched Aura's he was overcome with passion and held Aura tightly. As they kissed, the pendants glowed brightly and the congregation looked on with awe, marveling at the rare sight.

"I remember when we did that…" said Aurora softly to Alexander.

"As do I, my love, as do I," said Alexander as he embraced Aurora and kissed her.

"I was hoping I would get to see this one more time," said Warren happily. The congregation erupted with cheers as Mack and Aura faced them.

"I now present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Foxx!" shouted Glacian with great delight. As Jake played the organ loudly, Mack and Aura walked down the aisle, hand in hand with the pendants glowing brightly. Aurora cried as she held Alexander.

"Our daughter finally has a mate," sobbed Aurora with tears of joy, "And we got to see it happen!"

"If Mack had not come along, I don't want to think of what might have become of us," said Alexander as he stroked his beloved wife. As Mack and Aura left the room, Warren stood up before the congregation.

"I'm glad you could be here," said Fredrick to his mother and father.

"And we'll be there at your wedding, too!" laughed Alexander as Fredrick blushed nervously.

"Just to let you all know, there will be a celebratory banquet immediately in the chapel cafeteria!" shouted Warren as people stood up and started walking towards the back of the chapel.


	14. Section 14

**-36-**

Meanwhile, back at the lab, Central watched attentively through K-1's camera as Mack and Aura walked down the aisle.

"I've never seen you so happy, Mack," thought Central, "I can't wait to get to know the mistress even more." Suddenly, her sensors detected movement in the medical room. A screen had been set up so that if Ramirez actually stirred, he might get to see some of the wedding. Central quickly panned one of her cameras towards the clear door of the cell regenerator. She turned the audio to full power as Ramirez twitched in the capsule. Suddenly, Central gasped as Ramirez cracked a smile and spoke.

"Aura…" wheezed Ramirez, "…I'm so…happy you…found a mate…"

"Ramirez?" asked Central, "Can you hear me?"

"I…hope I'll get to know…your friend, Mack…soon…" said Ramirez as he struggled to smile. Moments later, Ramirez fell silent and stopped moving. Central was dumbfounded at this sudden twist.

"If this is what the results are after a week, what more can I expect in the coming weeks? Maybe Ramirez will be well when Mack and Aura come back from their honeymoon," thought Central, "It's going to be odd for Mack and Aura to be gone for a while. At least I'll have K-1 and Eric to keep me company until Mack and Aura return."

"You also have us," said Galileo the Alakazam as he walked into Central's main control room.

"I see a very happy future for Mack and Aura," said Albert.

"I see you guys can also read the thoughts of a computer," said Central with amazement.

"It's not as easy at is looks," chuckled Albert. Central still seemed to be rather somber.

"I'm wondering how long Mack and Aura will stay here," said Central, "They now share each others powers and abilities. According to the DNA readings I got from Aura, she will no longer age, much like Mack. They will literally live until the end of time. How long will Mack stay here?"

"There is no need to worry," said Galileo as he straightened his necktie, "Mack and Aura will indeed be together forever and I think that Mack would take Aura home with him in a heartbeat after staying in this world for the next one hundred years or so."

"You're right," said Central with relief, "It's really not my business. I should not worry."

"There is only one thing I would be wary of," said Albert.

"And what would that be?" demanded Central.

"Some young Ralts and Kirlia running amuck in this lab!" laughed Galileo as Central erupted with laugher. Even Ramirez seemed to be laughing.

"…Aura…" wheezed Ramirez with quiet laughter, "…please be careful out there…"

**-37-**

Back in Gardev at the chapel, Mack and Aura sat side by side as the townspeople walked into the large cafeteria and sat down at tables. Glacian, Aurora and Alexander glanced over at Mack and Aura; they just sat there, staring at each other with big smiles on their faces.

"They certainly like each other quite a bit," remarked Alexander.

"And it never fades away…" said Aurora softly as she held Alexander's right hand. Lunch was served uneventfully. Oddly enough, Mack and Aura had requested pizza of all things. One hour later, it was time for dessert as the cake was brought before Mack and Aura. They glanced at each other and cut the first slice together. Soon, they each had a bite of cake in each other's hands.

"What do you wanna bet they smash it in each other's faces?" asked Anna to Sakura.

"I don't think so," giggled Sakura, "They're too deeply in love for that." Anna sighed as Mack and Aura fed each other some of the cake.

"I win!" laughed Sakura.

"No fair…" complained Anna, "I wanted to see some cake get smashed into someone's face…"

"You asked for it!" yelled William as he flung a plateful of cake with his tail across the room and into Anna's face.

"William…" growled Anna as she wiped the chocolate frosting off her face and shook the crumbs from the marble cake off of her dress, "I'm going to destroy you!"

"You wanted some cake in someone's face, and you got it!" laughed William as he ran out of the room with Anna right on his tail. As cake was passed around the room, Alexander and Aurora walked towards Mack and Aura. Alexander had a bottle of wine in his hands. Mack glanced at Alexander and Aurora.

"Let me guess, both of you…" started Mack.

"Yes," said Alexander happily as he put an arm around Aurora, "These are the dresses we wore on our wedding day." Mack stood up and stood next to Alexander.

"Your dress is almost like mine," said Mack with amazement.

"That's why I chose it for you," giggled Aurora, "Except that yours shimmers in the light. I wanted to make sure that you stood out."

"He sure did!" giggled Aura as she stared at Mack. Mack sat back down next to Aura and glanced back and forth at Aura and Aurora.

"You and Aura look almost alike, Aurora!" said Mack as he gazed at Aura.

"Except," said Aurora as she twirled a few times, "Aura's dress sparkles and shines in the light. Perhaps you've noticed, Mack?" Mack and Aura laughed nervously as they glanced at each other in their wedding splendor.

"I liked the styles so much and Alexander agreed that you and Aura should really stand out on your wedding day," said Aurora with happiness. Mack faced Alexander and Aurora.

"Alexander, Aurora: can I call you mom and dad?" Alexander and his wife smiled at Mack.

"Of course," replied Alexander, "We are your in-laws after all. We have a lot of good years ahead of us."

"Tell me, Alexander," said Aurora as she faced her mate, "When was the last time you were at a wonderful wedding?" Alexander embraced Aurora.

"How could I forget?" said Alexander softly, "It was 25 years ago to this day when we were married."

"What do you have there?" asked Mack as he pointed at the bottle in Alexander's right hand. Alexander happily set the bottle on the table.

"Aurora and I drank this on our wedding day," explained Alexander, "This is from the last batch of Gardev's dessert wines and is also the most fabulous. I've been saving it for this day." Alexander poured the wine into the lovers' crystal goblets. Mack picked up his goblet and Aura hers. They slowly moved their goblets towards each other. Aura sighed with delight as she drank the sweet wine.

"You two can have this," said Alexander, "It's the last bottle in Gardev."

"Thank you," said Mack, "But why are you giving me such a treasure of yours?"

"Like I said, Aurora and I drank some of this fine wine on our wedding day, so I wanted you and Aura to enjoy some on this joyous occasion," said Alexander as he left the table, "We're going to become good friends, son." Before long, another wedding tradition was about to take place and Anna was no longer dead set on annihilating William. Mack and Aura stood up and came forward.

"Let's have all eligible, single female Pokémon come forward," said Glacian. Sakura, Anna and other Pokémon gathered in the center of the room as Mack and Aura faced away from them.

"That bouquet is going to be mine," snarled Anna. Sakura giggled. With a hearty toss, the bouquet flew into the air as Eric quickly took a picture. Anna jumped towards the ceiling to intercept it, but missed and fell on the ground face first. As Anna regained her composure, she heard Sakura giggle as she cuddled the bouquet of white roses.

"Aw man…" grumbled Anna as the young Pokémon scattered back to their seats. Anna soon noticed a familiar Kirlia from her school.

"That was quite a leap. I hope you'll practice with me," said a blushing male Kirlia. Anna smiled at him.

"Could we now have all single, eligible male Pokémon come forward," said Glacian as Fredrick, Li, William and other Pokémon came to the center of the room. Aura giggled and sat in a folding chair, facing the young Pokémon. Mack knelt before her and removed one of her white slippers. Mack stroked Aura's soft, shimmering skirt. Aura blushed deeply as Mack started to lift up her skirt. While Mack reached up her skirt, the soft petticoats rustled against his hands. Aura laughed nervously as Mack put his fingers around her lace garter. Mack glanced up at Aura while he slowly pulled down the garter. Aura winked at Mack as Eric quickly took another picture. Mack laughed quietly and blushed as he finally took off Aura's garter, slowly lowered her skirt and put her slipper back on. Mack faced away from the young Pokémon and tossed the garter into the air.

"What do you think?" asked Li to Fredrick, "Now you have another big brother!" Fredrick smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

"Mack is a fun guy," said Fredrick, "You never know what to expect from him." Suddenly, Fredrick felt something soft land on his head. He reached his right hand up and wrapped his fingers around a small, lace object.

"Whoa!" said Li as Fredrick stared at the garter, "Score!" Sakura ran next to Fredrick with the bouquet.

"Let's have a big hand for the happy couple!" laughed Glacian as Sakura held Fredrick's left hand. The people and Pokémon cheered. Fredrick laughed nervously while Aura giggled at them. Jake walked over to Mack and Aura.

"Would you two care for a dance?" asked Jake. Mack nodded as he helped Aura back on her feet.

"Want to dance, my love?" asked Mack. Aura blushed and nodded her head. Mack placed his hands on Aura's waist as Aura put a hand on Mack's shoulder and held her skirt with the other hand. Jake wandered over to a large set of speakers in the room and pressed a few buttons on a CD player. Moments later, the room filled with soft, slow music. Before long, Mack, Aura and several other people and Pokémon were swaying to the music. As they danced, Mack kissed Aura from time to time and the pendants would glow brightly each time. Alexander and Aurora held each other as they watched Mack and Aura share their first dance. Their dresses shimmered and sparkled as Aura's diamond jewelry shone with bright luster.

"What are we sitting here for?" asked Aurora with a grin.

"Indeed. Let's join Mack and Aura in their first dance," said Alexander and he laughed quietly, took his wife's hand and led her onto the dance floor. As they danced, Sakura and Fredrick gracefully danced to the slow music. Glacian watched while Fredrick and Sakura danced.

"I wonder if there is wedding in their future too?" thought Glacian with a smile. Simon stood on the sidelines, trying not to draw any attention to himself. Much to his disappointment, one female Gardevoir after another had been asking him to dance.

"Want to dance?" asked a young, female Gardevoir, "That suit I helped make looks great on you."

"No…thank you…" stammered Simon nervously as the Gardevoir walked away, sighing with disappointment.

"If so much as one more Pokémon asks me to dance, I'll scream!" thought Simon as he noticed William in front of him.

"Don't even think about it!" interrupted Simon as he waved his claws at William.

"You don't want to help me steal the rest of the cake?! Fine! Sheesh, Simon! A 'No thank you' would have sufficed!" growled William as he scurried away. Simon gazed at the ceiling and looked down again; he saw Anna in front of him.

"What is it, Anna?" asked Simon calmly. Anna held her fluffy skirt and offered a curtsey.

"Will you dance with me?" asked Anna politely with a bow. Simon walked onto the dance floor in shock as Anna held him by his two scythes. Aura and Mack glanced over at Simon and smiled. Simon looked at them with pleading eyes, praying that they would take Anna away from him.

"You sure are nervous. Why don't you show all of us what you've got," said Anna sweetly as she let go of Simon's claws.

"Very well," said Simon as he faced Jake at the sound system, "Kick things up a notch!" Jake saluted Simon and quickly shuffled through some CDs. Moments later, he loaded the proper disk into the machine, pressed the Play button and some loud jazz filled the room.

"Watch and learn, everyone!" said Simon as he started to dance to the beat. Everyone on the dance floor backed away from Simon to give him some room. Mack and Aura gazed at Simon as they held each other close. Mack stroked Aura and was amazed at just how soft her dress felt.

"He's good!" remarked Aura with surprise.

"Am I any good at dancing?" asked Mack. Aura smiled at him.

"That was a flawless performance, Mack," giggled Aura.

"Really? Is dancing natural for a Gardevoir?" asked Mack. Aura laughed and nodded her head.

"That explains why Mack didn't make an idiot of himself on the dance floor!" laughed William. The crowd watched as Simon really got his groove on. Before long, the song ended and Simon was left on the dance floor. He hadn't even broken a sweat.

"Now that's how it's done!" said Simon as a group of female Gardevoir surrounded him.

"What's with them?" asked Mack as the giggling group surrounded Simon.

"They're just looking for a mate," answered Aura with a grin, "And really wishing he was a Gardevoir, especially after the show he put on."

"Didn't you say that being a good dancer was a good way to get the attention of the girls?" asked Mack with a grin.

"You're a good dancer now," giggled Aura as she stroked the soft, shimmering satin on his shoulder, "So, you pass." Before long, the day of festivities and celebration was coming to an end. The sun was setting in the Valley of Gardev. The crowd of people and Pokémon gathered at the front of the chapel as Mack and Aura prepared to leave for their honeymoon. Glacian, Aurora and Alexander approached Mack and Aura.

"If you want, you can spend your first few weeks together in the Gardevoir city," said Glacian, "It would be an honor for you to stay at the palace."

"Who will watch over Gardev, though?" asked Mack.

"I've already seen the future," replied Glacian, "Gardev will be peaceful for a while and if anything does happen, I'll be right here."

"Okay," said Aura, "Shall we, Mack?"

"Let's," answered Mack as he and Aura kissed once again. William jumped into Mack's arms and squeaked with delight.

"Have a nice time, Mack," said William as Mack gently stroked his back.

"Who are you going to stay with for a few weeks?" asked Mack.

"I'll stay with Sakura," whispered William, "And keep a good distance from Anna." Aura laughed and picked up William from Mack's arms. William squeaked softly as she stroked his back.

"I could get used to this…" sighed William with delight. Aura giggled and kissed William on one of his cheeks before she handed him over to Sakura.

"You got kissed by the bride!" laughed Sakura with happiness as she held William.

"I could get used to that…" sighed a smiling William.

"Take good care of him, Sakura," said Mack.

"I will!" said Sakura happily as she and Fredrick held hands.

"I'll watch over the lab in the meantime with Xavier and Eric and Central," said K-1.

"Most excellent," said Mack as he glanced at Aura.

"I'll have these photos developed by the time you two lovebirds get back," said Eric with a friendly smile.

"Thank you," said Mack as he faced the crowd, "Thank you all very much for being a part of this grand day!"

"You two have a wonderful night," said a happy Alexander.

"I almost can't wait until I'm a grandmother," said Aurora blissfully, "Enjoy your first night together, Mack and Aura."

"Thank you," replied Mack as Aura smiled and blushed. The crowd of Pokémon and people cheered as Mack walked to Aura's side and took her up in his arms. The crowd continued to cheer as Mack carried Aura down the streets of Gardev towards Warren's house for the night. As they got away from the chapel, Mack and Aura could hear the calling from the Hoothoots and Noctowls as twilight descended upon the quiet village. Mack glanced down at Aura, his beautiful bride. Her jewelry and dress still sparkled and shimmered in the dimming light. Aura smiled and put an arm around Mack. Their dresses rustled softly as Mack carried Aura.

"You know something, Aura," said Mack as he quietly walked down the street, "After all these years of traveling, trying to get home, I finally feel like I have another place I can call home." Aura blushed and said quietly to Mack, "Well, let me be the first to say, 'Welcome home, Mack.'" Mack bent over and kissed Aura as the pendants once again glowed brightly. Off in the distance stood Warren and Glacian back at the chapel. They watched as Mack carried Aura into Warren's house.

"I hoped and prayed I would get to see another couple of guardians get married," said Warren happily.

"This is just the beginning," said Glacian with a smile, "For both of us will be there when Mack and Aura's first Ralts is born."

**-38-**

Cecil paced in his office nervously.

"What is taking Dr. Namwen so long?" thought Cecil, "And why did he want to meet me here, in my office at this hour?!"

"Greetings, Cecil," hissed Dr. Namwen as he entered the room. Cecil shuddered at the sound of Dr. Namwen's eerie voice.

"Why did you want me to meet you here?" demanded Cecil.

"I just have a few questions to ask you," said Dr. Namwen as he sat down in Cecil's chair.

"Okay," said Cecil as he faced Dr. Namwen, "Lay it on me."

"Tell me, what would you give to have vengeance on the Guardian of Gardev?" asked Dr. Namwen.

"What?!" shouted Cecil, "I would give all I have: my money and my rank in Cipher just to make sure that the Guardian of Gardev is eliminated!"

"You sure are willing to give up quite a bit just to put a single Pokémon six feet under," remarked Dr. Namwen, "Tell me, my friend, would you be willing to give up…your humanity?"

"I don't understand what you mean," grumbled Cecil.

"Hear me out. What if I could give you the chance to face off against the guardian and be able to crush her into the ground? With Project Omega, I can do just that. The guardian would not be a match for you after I'm through," explained Dr. Namwen with an evil grin on his face.

"And how will you do that?" demanded an irritated Cecil.

"By simply combining your DNA structure with a DNA sample from one of the guardians," replied Dr. Namwen.

"You're crazier than eating snow cones in the arctic!" laughed Cecil.

"It can be done," said Dr. Namwen impatiently, "I managed to draw blood from one of the guardians as well as from the aggravating alien mercenary. You were right, the alien and the guardian had been fused into one body back in Gardev. Using that information and the research that I've gather over the last month, I could give you the power of the Guardians of Gardev!"

"You aren't kidding, are you?" asked Cecil.

"Wouldn't you like the blood of the guardians flowing through your veins? You could kill Aura and Mack. Then, you could take their pendants for yourself. With the immense power, you could liquidate the Gardevoir city and all the Pokémon in it would belong to Cipher!" said Dr. Namwen with triumph.

"I suppose you found the legendary city?" asked Cecil. Dr. Namwen produced a piece of paper from his pocket with the proper coordinates written on it. Cecil still seemed hesitant.

"And, could I be turned back after all is said and done?" asked Cecil.

"Yes," replied Dr. Namwen, "Turning you back into a human would be a snap."

"How long would this take?" asked Cecil.

"We'll have to be careful that no one knows about this," said Dr. Namwen, "After I run a few tests on you, I could fuse you with the guardians' DNA within less than a week."

"Then let's begin tomorrow!" said Cecil with determination. Dr. Namwen smiled at Cecil.

"You have sealed your fate, Cecil," thought Dr. Namwen, "You are about to repay my favor to you with your very life…"

To be concluded…


End file.
